Types of Roadway Slopes

If a roadside is not flat, a motorist who leaves the roadway will encounter a fill slope, a cut slope, a transverse slope, or a drainage ditch. Fill slopes, also known as fore slopes, result from construction of a roadway above the original ground level. Cut slopes, also known as back slopes, result from cutting away original ground for the roadway.

Transverse slopes are slopes created by median crossovers, berms, driveways, or intersecting roadways. These slopes are more critical than cut or fill slopes since a vehicle can strike it head-on. Transverse slopes of 1V:10H are ideal, but slopes of 1V:6H is the steepest preferred slope.