ENCN361-25S1 (C) Semester One 2025

Transportation Engineering

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 17 February 2025
End Date: Sunday, 22 June 2025
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 2 March 2025
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 11 May 2025

Description

This course is an introduction to the broad disciplines of transport engineering. It comprises four major topics, including traffic flow theory, transport planning, geometric design of roads, and sustainability and resilience in transport systems

Learning Outcomes

Describe and explain the fundamental traffic flow variables and apply statistical skills in analysing traffic data;  (Washington Accord WA1, WA3) (UC EEI1, EEI3, EEI5)

Describe and apply the terminologies and concepts of traffic flow theories, such as car-following models and hydrodynamic theory, in explaining real-world traffic phenomena; (Washington Accord WA1, WA5) (UC EEI3, EE14. EEI5)

Describe and explain the highway geometric design criteria. Design the geometry of highways with the considerations of human factors, safety, and physical constraints (Washington Accord  WA1, WA3, WA4, WA6) (UC EE13, EE14)

Explain the importance of transport planning and the need for behavioural modelling approaches in transport planning (Washington Accord WA1, WA2) (UC CE2, EE13)

Develop an understanding of the transportation planning process and analysis. Apply computational methods related to various stages of transport planning, including trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice, and traffic assignment; (Washington Accord WA1, WA2). WA3, WA5) (UC CE2, EE13)

Recognise and understand the importance of transport systems within the framework of sustainable development. Be able to apply the planning principles for active modes. Describe and apply resilience engineering concepts for transport infrastructure; (Washington Accord WA1, WA6, WA7),  (UC EGA2, EE15)

Describe the core components of transport sector structure, funding sources, and policy framework in New Zealand. Familiarize with current transport funding priorities and investigate current transport policy issues in New Zealand; (Washington Accord WA1, WA3, WA6), UC CE3, BICC7)

Prerequisites

Timetable 2025

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Monday 09:00 - 11:00 E9 Lecture Theatre
17 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
02 Monday 14:00 - 16:00 A3 Lecture Theatre
17 Feb - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 1 Jun
Lecture B
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Friday 09:00 - 11:00 E9 Lecture Theatre
17 Feb - 23 Mar
31 Mar - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 25 May
02 Friday 13:00 - 15:00 E9 Lecture Theatre
17 Feb - 23 Mar
31 Mar - 6 Apr
28 Apr - 25 May
Tutorial A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Wednesday 09:00 - 10:00 Rehua 102
24 Feb - 30 Mar
28 Apr - 25 May
02 Wednesday 11:00 - 12:00 Rehua 102
24 Feb - 30 Mar
28 Apr - 25 May

Examinations, Quizzes and Formal Tests

Test A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Wednesday 19:00 - 21:00 Otakaro 236 L2 Lecture Theatre
31 Mar - 6 Apr
02 Wednesday 19:00 - 21:00 Otakaro 146 L1 Lecture Theatre
31 Mar - 6 Apr
03 Wednesday 19:00 - 21:00 E7 Lecture Theatre
31 Mar - 6 Apr

Course Coordinator / Lecturer

Wai Wong

Lecturer

Yi Wang

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Assignments 15% Geometric design, sustainability and resilience in transportation systems, traffic flow theory, and transport planning
Midterm 35% Geometric design, and sustainability and resilience in transportation systems
Final 50% Traffic flow theory, and transport planning


• The mid-semester test will cover Modules 1 and 2 (Geometric Design and Sustainable and Resilient Transport). The final exam will be comprehensive, but with a focus on Modules 3 and 4 (Traffic Flow Theory and Transport Planning).
• You cannot pass this course unless you achieve a mark of at least 40% in each of the mid-semester test and the final exam. A student who narrowly fails to achieve 40% in either the test or exam, but who performs very well in the other, may be eligible for a pass in the course.
• All assignments must be submitted by the due date. Late submissions will be penalised. If a student is unable to complete and submit an assignment by the deadline due to personal circumstances beyond their control, they should follow the special considerations process outlined below.
• It is important to remember that copying another person’s work and submitting that work as your own is plagiarism. This practice is unethical and may result in disciplinary action being taken against you.
• Students repeating the course must undertake all parts of the course.

Textbooks / Resources

Recommended Reading

Banks, James H; Introduction to transportation engineering ; 2nd ed; McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Mannering, Fred L. , Washburn, Scott S; Principles of highway engineering and traffic analysis ; Fifth edition, SI version; Wiley, 2013.

Other Suggested Texts:

Austroads (2016), Guide to Road Design (esp. Part 3: Geometric Design) – available on Austroads website

Transit NZ (2000), State Highway Geometric Design Manual (Draft) – available on NZTA website

Additional Course Outline Information

Assessment and grading system

Any student who has been impaired by significant exceptional and/or unforeseeable circumstances that have
prevented them from completing any major assessment items, or that have impaired their performance such
that the results are not representative of their true level of mastery of the course material, may apply for special
consideration through the formal university process. The applicability and academic remedy/action associated
with the special consideration process are listed for each assessment item below. Please refer to the University
Special Consideration Regulations and Special Consideration Policies and Procedures documents for more
information on the acceptable grounds for special consideration and the application process.

https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/study/study-support-info/study-topics/special-consideration

Special Consideration for Assignments
An extension will be granted for evidence-supported requests. Extensions will typically be for up to one week,
but the duration will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Students seeking an extension must contact the
course coordinator/lecturer as soon as possible with evidence of their situation, and preferably before the due
date.

Special Consideration for Midterm Tests
Moderate/Serious/Severe Impact: Students will be offered an equivalent in-person alternative test that will
replace their original test mark. The original test mark will not be revealed to the student prior to taking the
resit. The alternative assessments will be held on a date early in Term 2. It is the students’ responsibility
to ensure that they are available for these dates.

Special Consideration for Final Exam
Serious/Severe Impact: Students will be offered an equivalent alternative in-person exam that will replace their
original exam mark. The original exam mark will not be revealed to the student prior to taking the resit. The
alternative assessments will be held on campus in the week of 7 July. It is the students’ responsibility to ensure that they are available for these dates.

Note: All communication associated with the arrangements of these equivalent alternative assessments will be
conducted using official UC email accounts. The offer to sit an alternative assessment will come with a
date/time during the resit week. Students will have a clearly specified amount of time to respond to the offer.

Failure to respond will be interpreted as a declined offer. If the offer is declined or no response is received in the specified time frame, the original assessment mark will be used to compute the course grade. If a student has applied for special consideration but the application has not yet been approved when arrangements are being made for the alternative sitting, they may be permitted to sit the alternative assessment, but the mark will only be applied if the application is approved by the special consideration committee at an appropriate severity level.

Code of Behaviour and Academic Integrity
All students are expected to be familiar with the University’s codes, policies, and procedures including but not
limited to the Student Code of Conduct, Campus Drug and Alcohol Policy, Copyright Policy, Disability and
Impairment Policy, and Equity and Diversity Policy. It is the responsibility of each student to be familiar with
the definitions, policies and procedures concerning academic misconduct/dishonest behaviour. More
information on UC’s policies and academic integrity can be found in the undergraduate handbook as well as at: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/about-uc/corporate-information/policies
https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/about-uc/what-we-do/teaching/academic-integrity

Generative AI use in this course
Generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) is a new technology with clear implications for civil and natural resource
engineering practice. In this course, the use of generative AI is permitted providing it adheres to the guidelines
of responsible practice described below.

Generative AI can be used to improve to your writing and provide editing feedback. When using AI to alter your
writing, it is important to check that the substantive message of the text has not been altered. It is recommended
that your prompt end with “…and explain the changes that you made” so that you can gain feedback to improve
your own writing. It is not recommended to use AI to generate original text. Rather, it is safer to place yourself
in the role of author, and AI in the role of editor, so that it is only improving the communication of your original
ideas.

AI can be used to find, gather and summarize knowledge on a subject that is outside your expertise. However,
it is important that you verify any information produced by AI. AI output can be convincingly wrong on
technical matters. AI output can be incomplete, potentially omitting alternative hypotheses or views. AI output
can be contradictory, offering concluding statements that are incoherent with arguments given earlier. Thus, it
is important to verify AI-generated output. This includes checking source material, asking or reprompting an
AI for alternative views, and challenging it to justify its statements. Verification may only possible when you
are a subject matter expert, i.e., a competent engineer.

An AI is not a substitute for a creative, problem-solving engineer. It cannot match the complex reasoning or
emotional intelligence of a human. Relying on an AI to solve problems for you may prevent you from achieving
course Learning Outcomes. Being unable to demonstrate your mastery of Learning Outcomes during an
invigilated assessment (test or exam) when AI is unavailable could lead to you failing the course.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,122.00

International fee $6,238.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Civil and Natural Resources Engineering .

All ENCN361 Occurrences

  • ENCN361-25S1 (C) Semester One 2025