Skip to main content
ExamWize
Sign up

FE · 9% of the exam

Transportation Engineering practice questions

10 free Transportation Engineering questions for the FE Civil Exam (FE) exam, each with the correct answer and an explanation for every option.

Start the questionsFree 10-question FE quiz

What this domain covers

Designing and running roads and traffic systems: geometric design, pavements, traffic flow and capacity, safety and planning.

Exam weight
9%
On a real exam
≈ 10 questions
In our bank
54 questions

Topics that come up most

  • Horizontal and vertical curves
  • Stopping sight distance and superelevation
  • Traffic flow, capacity and level of service
  • Pavement design and traffic loading
  • Crash analysis and traffic control devices

How to study it

Learn the parts of horizontal and vertical curves and calculate stations and elevations for one of each by hand; these geometry questions come up again and again.

Sample Transportation Engineering questions

Try each one before opening the answer. Original questions written to the official exam objectives.

  1. Question 1

    A level highway has a design speed of 50 mi/h. Using a perception-reaction time of 2.5 s and a deceleration rate of 11.2 ft/s², the stopping sight distance is about:

    • A240 ft
    • B314 ft
    • C424 ft
    • D664 ft
    Show answer and explanation

    Answer: C) 424 ft

    Stopping sight distance is reaction distance (1.47Vt) plus braking distance (1.075V²/a): 184 ft + 240 ft ≈ 424 ft.

    • AIncorrect. This is only the braking distance, V²/(2a) = 73.5²/(2 × 11.2) ≈ 240 ft. It leaves out the roughly 184 ft travelled during the perception-reaction time.
    • BIncorrect. This uses a 1.0-s perception-reaction time (about 74 ft) instead of the given 2.5 s. The braking distance of 240 ft is right, but the reaction distance is too small.
    • CCorrect. Reaction distance = 1.47(50)(2.5) ≈ 184 ft. Braking distance = 1.075V²/a = 1.075(2,500)/11.2 ≈ 240 ft. SSD ≈ 184 + 240 ≈ 424 ft.
    • DIncorrect. This computes braking distance as V²/a (≈ 480 ft) and drops the factor of 2 in V²/(2a), so the braking part comes out twice as large.

  2. Question 2

    A toll booth receives 600 veh/h and can serve 900 veh/h. The utilization is:

    • A300 veh/h
    • B1.5
    • C0.33
    • D0.67
    Show answer and explanation

    Answer: D) 0.67

    • AIncorrect. That's spare capacity.
    • BIncorrect. That's inverted.
    • CIncorrect. That's the idle fraction.
    • DCorrect. ρ = λ/μ = 600/900.

  3. Question 3

    Under ideal conditions, the capacity of a basic freeway lane is about:

    • A600 passenger cars per hour per lane
    • B2,400 passenger cars per hour per lane
    • C10,000 passenger cars per hour per lane
    • D1,000 vehicles per day per lane
    Show answer and explanation

    Answer: B) 2,400 passenger cars per hour per lane

    • AIncorrect. That's far too low.
    • BCorrect. Capacity varies with free-flow speed.
    • CIncorrect. That's far too high.
    • DIncorrect. That's a daily volume.

  4. Question 4

    Speed 60 mi/h, perception-reaction time 2.5 s, f = 0.35, level grade. The stopping sight distance is about:

    • A563 ft
    • B343 ft
    • C221 ft
    • D783 ft
    Show answer and explanation

    Answer: A) 563 ft

    • ACorrect. \(1.47(60)(2.5) + 60^2/[30(0.35)] = 220.5 + 342.9\).
    • BIncorrect. That's braking distance only.
    • CIncorrect. That's reaction distance only.
    • DIncorrect. Recheck the braking term.

  5. Question 5

    The Pavement Condition Index (PCI) rates pavement condition on a scale of:

    • AA to F
    • B1 to 5, like a star rating
    • C0 to 10
    • D0 to 100
    Show answer and explanation

    Answer: D) 0 to 100

    • AIncorrect. That's level of service.
    • BIncorrect. PCI uses 0 to 100.
    • CIncorrect. PCI uses 0 to 100.
    • DCorrect. 100 is excellent.

  6. Question 6

    In pavement design, an ESAL is the damage equivalent of one pass of a:

    • APassenger car
    • BFully loaded 80-kip tractor-trailer
    • C18-kip single axle load
    • D10-kip tandem axle
    Show answer and explanation

    Answer: C) 18-kip single axle load

    • AIncorrect. It's an 18-kip single axle.
    • BIncorrect. It's an 18-kip single axle.
    • CCorrect. Equivalent single axle load.
    • DIncorrect. It's an 18-kip single axle.

  7. Question 7

    Design speed 50 mi/h, radius 1,000 ft, side friction factor 0.12. Using \(e + f = V^2/(15R)\), the required superelevation is about:

    • A0.047
    • B0.167
    • C0.120
    • D0.287
    Show answer and explanation

    Answer: A) 0.047

    • ACorrect. \(2{,}500/15{,}000 - 0.12 = 0.167 - 0.120\).
    • BIncorrect. Subtract the side friction factor.
    • CIncorrect. That's the friction factor.
    • DIncorrect. Subtract f, don't add it.

  8. Question 8

    A conventional four-leg intersection with two-way approaches has how many vehicle conflict points in total?

    • A8
    • B16
    • C32
    • D4
    Show answer and explanation

    Answer: C) 32

    • AIncorrect. That's a roundabout's total.
    • BIncorrect. That's the crossing conflicts only.
    • CCorrect. 16 crossing, 8 merging and 8 diverging.
    • DIncorrect. Recheck the count.

  9. Question 9

    A 3,000-lb car climbs a 5% grade. The grade resistance force is about:

    • A60 lb
    • B1,500 lb
    • C150 lb
    • D300 lb
    Show answer and explanation

    Answer: C) 150 lb

    • AIncorrect. That isn't the calculation.
    • BIncorrect. That's off by a factor of 10.
    • CCorrect. Weight × grade.
    • DIncorrect. That doubles it.

  10. Question 10

    A 10-mile trip at an average speed of 40 mi/h takes:

    • A40 minutes
    • B25 minutes
    • C4 minutes
    • D15 minutes
    Show answer and explanation

    Answer: D) 15 minutes

    • AIncorrect. Recheck the division.
    • BIncorrect. Recheck the division.
    • CIncorrect. That's inverted.
    • DCorrect. 10/40 h = 0.25 h.

Transportation Engineering: FAQs

How much of the FE exam is Transportation Engineering?

Transportation Engineering is 9% of the FE exam by the official exam guide's weighting, which on a 110-question form works out to roughly 10 questions. The real exam's exact split varies by form.

What does the Transportation Engineering domain cover?

Designing and running roads and traffic systems: geometric design, pavements, traffic flow and capacity, safety and planning.

How should I study Transportation Engineering for FE?

Learn the parts of horizontal and vertical curves and calculate stations and elevations for one of each by hand; these geometry questions come up again and again.

Where can I practise more Transportation Engineering questions?

This page has 10 free Transportation Engineering questions with answers. The ExamWize FE question bank has 54 questions in this domain. Every practice exam result breaks your score down by domain, and Review Mode re-drills the questions you missed.

Other FE topics

Also: 15 free questions across all topics, the FE cheat sheet and the study guide.

Get Transportation Engineering exam-ready

The full FE bank has 54 Transportation Engineering questions. Timed practice exams match the real exam's length and domain weights, every result shows your score per domain, and Review Mode re-drills the questions you missed.

See the full FE practice examsTake the free diagnostic

Not affiliated with NCEES; questions are original, written from the official exam outline, and never copied from the real exam.