Geometric Design Guidelines for B.C. Roads
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The information on this page provides road design guidelines for the highway system in British Columbia.
The latest edition of the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads is the primary source for basic design principles. The AASHTO document, A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 7th Edition, is recommended as a secondary reference for basic design principles.
The B.C. Supplement to TAC explains the preferred recommended practice for use on British Columbia transportation projects.
B.C. Supplement to TAC (2019)
- B.C. Supplement to TAC Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads
(PDF, 66MB, 578 pages - April 2021 Version)
- The current up-to-date downloadable version is April 2021
- The current published hard copy version is April 2019
- New and revised content will be provided below as it becomes available
- Individual chapters are also available below
Updates for B.C. Supplement to TAC
- The full version for download always includes all updates
- Updated sections of the supplement are posted below (with release date)
- Technical Bulletins contain unpublished updates and additions
- contain new guidelines or instructions
- will be removed once incorporated into future updates
- Update notes and printing replacement instructions - updated to April 2021
Printing Instructions
- Technical printing details - 8½x11 (letter) or 11x17 (tabloid), single-sided or double-sided, and colour or black and white
- The entire supplement may be printed, updated sections may be printed for insertion/replacement to existing hard copies
- Printing Instructions 2019 (PDF)
Individual Chapters
Individual chapters are provided in PDF format for quicker download and to enable the replacement of updated individual sections as required.
| Chapter Name | DL | Pages | Size | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entire Document | 578 | 66 MB | April 2021 | |
| Front Matter | 12 | 1.5 MB | ||
| Table of Contents | 2 | 190 KB | ||
| 100 Highway Design Process | 24 | 1.2 MB | April 2021 | |
| 200 Classification (no content) | ||||
| 300 Alignment | 18 | 820 KB | ||
| 400 Cross Sections | 18 | 2.5 MB | ||
| 500 Low-Volume Roads | 18 | 960 KB | ||
| 600 Safety Elements | 51 | 5.9 MB | ||
| 700 Intersections and Access | 62 | 21 MB | ||
| 800 Interchanges (no content) | ||||
| 900 Auxiliary Facilities | 42 | 1.4 MB | ||
| 1000 Hydraulics | 62 | 8.9 MB | ||
| 1100 Railway Crossings & Utilities | 32 | 2.4 MB | ||
| 1200 Contracts and Drawings (8½x11 pages) |
86 | 9.3 MB | Nov 2020 | |
| 1200 Contracts and Drawings (11x17 pages) |
19 | 2.6 MB | Nov 2020 | |
| 1300 Geometric Improvements | 50 | 400 KB | ||
| 1400 Subdivision Roads | 42 | 4.0 MB | ||
| 1500 Alpine Ski Village Roads | 32 | 3.4 MB | ||
| 1600 Noise Policy | 8 | 260 KB |
