Chapter 6 - Cross Section Elements

6.4. Pavement Crowns

There are four categories of pavement crowns:

One-way Tangent Crown:  A one-way tangent crown slopes downward from left to right as viewed by the driver. It is used for all roadways providing one-way traffic, except as noted in the following paragraphs.

Two-way Tangent Crown:  A two-way tangent crown has a high point in the middle of the roadway and slopes downward toward both edges. It is used for all roadways providing two-way traffic. For undivided multi-lane highways, the pavement is sloped downward and away from the median centerline, or from the left or right edge line of the median lane on a five-lane section.

Two-way Crown Converted to One-way Use:  When an existing roadway with a two-way crown is converted from two-way to one-way use, the existing crown shape can remain. However, if possible, it is desirable to utilize leveling to adjust cross-slope in order to obtain a constant cross-slope.

Cross-over Crown Break:  The cross-over crown break between main lanes is limited to an algebraic difference of 4% (0.04 ft/ft). This applies at the break point of a two-way crown. The algebraic difference between the main roadway cross-slope and shoulder cross-slope should not exceed 8% (0.08 ft/ft).