A road project starts with its function, available terrain, traffic, and water drainage conditions. The length of the route and a proposed asphalt thickness are not enough to define the solution or a complete design package.
What must be established in the design brief?
Specify whether the investment concerns a public road, a street, private access, a parking lot, or a circulation platform. Identify the infrastructure administrator to which the connection is made, the project endpoints, and any related works: intersections, culverts, sidewalks, water collection, lighting, and utility relocations.
The road category, function, and traffic influence design parameters. Ministry of Transport Order no. 1.296/2017, as subsequently amended, approves the standards for road design, construction, and modernization. Regulations are chosen based on the project: parameters for a public road do not automatically transfer to a private access or a technological road at an airport.
What information must be available?
The topographic survey must be correlated with the cadastre and property boundaries. Terrain levels, access points, fences, buildings, ditches, culverts, and visible networks are tracked. Information on buried utilities is supplemented by owner records and, when necessary, through field investigations.
Geotechnical documentation must provide the basis for evaluating the foundation soil and groundwater conditions. For rehabilitation, existing damage, the composition of the current road system, and investigations that allow for the determination of interventions are also relevant. The solution is correlated with technical expertise when necessary.
Traffic is not just described by the number of vehicles. The brief must identify heavy vehicles, traffic trends, and determining maneuvers. Access used by semi-trailers requires checking trajectories and the space occupied during turns, including relative to gates, curbs, and obstacles.
How are geometry, road structure, and drainage correlated?
The horizontal alignment, longitudinal profile, and cross-sections must be checked together. A change in elevation can affect property access, pipe coverage, and water drainage. Visibility and maneuvers must be verified for the actual configuration, not just the drawn centerline.
Road structure sizing starts with design traffic, foundation soil, climatic conditions, and proposed materials. AND 605-2016 addresses hot-mix asphalt; choosing a compliant mix does not replace the justification for thicknesses and the load-bearing capacity of the entire system.
For drainage, the complete water path must be known: from the road surface to gutters or ditches, then through culverts or collectors to the discharge point. A gutter without functional discharge just moves the problem to another point. Discharge is correlated with levels, receptor capacity, and conditions imposed by the owner or competent authorities.
When modernizing a street with new networks, the levels of manholes and connections are coordinated before finalizing the road structure. This allows for planning works by specialty and reduces the risk of later tearing up newly executed surfaces.
What is the difference between SF, DALI, DTAC, and PT?
For investments funded wholly or partially by public funds, Government Decision no. 907/2016 establishes the stages and framework content. SF supports new investments, while DALI covers interventions on existing buildings under the terms of the decision. For mixed investments, classification is established based on the actual object of the works.
DTAC serves for authorization. The execution technical project develops the solution for realizing the works and includes written and drawn parts, technical specifications, quantities, and details necessary, according to the phase and applicable framework. A set of drawings for authorization should not be confused with the complete documentation for execution.
The contract must define the documentation for approvals, project verification, technical assistance, and updates. Requirements from the road administrator and utility operators must be integrated into the solution, not just attached to the file.
How do you prepare a request for a comparable quote?
Provide the site location in Bihor or another county, approximate length, function, existing state, available plans, and required phases. Indicate the source of funding, already completed studies, existing approvals, and related works. State if access must be maintained during execution.
Request that the quote specifies who provides the topography, geotechnics, investigations, expertise, and technical verification, as appropriate. Separate the design cost from taxes and third-party services. This way, you can compare packages that have the same scope, not just two total values.
The Sky Meridian team correlates road design with utility installations and other involved specialties, depending on the investment requirements.
Consult the technical chapter in our guide
Discuss your project with the Sky Meridian team
Road, access, and parking design