ROADS Comprehensive road and embankment design and calculations, suitable for urban and rural roads, freeways, airports, railways and dams.

What is Roads?

Roads is a comprehensive road design program that provides interactive embankment design and calculations. It is eminently suitable for urban and rural roads, freeways, airports, railways and dams.

Why Choose Roads?

CREATE MULTIPLE DESIGN CODES

You can create multiple design codes for horizontal and vertical alignment as well as super-elevation and simply load the one you require for a particular job. Roads will determine the horizontal curve radii, vertical curve lengths and super-elevation based on the design speed and design criteria.

ROAD REHABILITATION FUNCTION

The Road Rehabilitation function will extract the horizontal alignment, vertical alignment and super-elevation of an existing road from cross sections.

DISPLAY BACKDROPS

Display a bitmap showing the natural features, the cadastral layout drawing or the site contours while defining the horizontal alignment graphically by indicating the position of the HPIs. Once the HPIs have been defined you can drag them to modify the alignment. Route planning has never been so easy.

VERTICAL ALIGNMENT FUNCTION

The vertical alignment function allows you to display up to 4 profiles such as the ground line at centre line plus the left and right road reserves while the grade envelope will guide you according to the design criteria. The stake position is dynamically displayed on the plan view so you know exactly where the horizontal curves are.

APPLY COMPLEX SUPER-ELEVATION CONDITIONS

Precise control of the road edge levels allows you to apply complex super-elevation conditions and it makes provision for changes in lane widths for climbing lanes or auxiliary lanes. You can automatically create auxiliary lanes by specifying the lane width, start and end position, the taper lead-in and lead-out length and the layer works template to be applied. You can also calculate super elevation and run off lengths according to horizontal curves and specified design criteria.

ROAD EXPERT

The Road Expert will keep track of the design progress and if any changes are made it can automatically update the design.

CROSS SECTIONS AND LONG SECTIONS

Sections are stored in up to 128 layers. Keep track of construction progress by recording each month’s results in a separate layer. Calculate cut and fill volumes between any two layers with topsoil stripping and bulking or compaction factors.

Extract up to 20 long sections from any of the 128 layers to define ground lines, intermediate or hard material lines at user defined offsets on long section drawings.

RENDERED 3D VIEW

”Drive” down the completed road in a rendered 3D view to check for blind rises and other anomalies (requires Survey & Terrain module).

Calculate sight distances in both directions of travel with a few easy steps. Calculate sight distances in both directions of travel with a few easy steps. Determine the areas where insufficient site distance is available. The program uses a 3D algorithm that takes vertical curves, horizontal curves and cross sections into account.

 

CREATE PRODUCTION DRAWINGS

Production drawings such as plans, cross sections and long sections with title blocks and company logos etc can be created with no or little CAD editing. The layout of production drawings are completely customizable according to your specific company standards, Crossing services from the other modules can also automatically be displayed on long sections and cross sections.

PIPE DATABASES

Databases can be created for additional services such as telecommunication ducts, electrical cables etc. These services can then be displayed on the plan layout and as crossing services on long sections and cross sections.

DESIGN AIDS

Crossing services from sewer, storm, water modules and pipe databases can be displayed when designing vertical alignment. These services can also be viewed on your cross section editor
While designing the Vertical alignment, Additional information on vertical curves and grades are dynamically displayed in an information box in the top of the window as you move.

While designing the horizontal alignment the program will warn the user when design criteria are exceeded.

ROAD PROFILE

You can specify complicated cut and fill conditions depending on the depth of cut and height of fill. You can create your own pavement designs and layerwork libraries for re-use using the user friendly Pavement designer.
 

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Roads Functions

 

	GENERAL
• Up to 250 named roads per project • 128 named layers per road • Create, copy or delete roads • Suitable for urban streets, rural arterials or major freeways, runways, railway embankments and dams

 

	DATA INPUT
• Import ASCII cross section files in various formats • Import CARDS cross sections • Import ASCII long sections in various formats • Import Stardust road files

 

ROAD PROFILE

• Suitable for single and dual carriageway roads • Compulsory additions such as kerbs, gutters, retaining walls, etc. • Pavement design determines layerwork specification • Create your own pavement design libraries for re-use • Cut / fill profiles vary according to height from shoulder to NGL • Fixed toe point offset with variable slopes • Test the profile graphically against various cut / fill scenarios before   you apply the profile • Apply multiple profiles along a road

 

CROSS SECTIONS

• Input sections as offset and elevation • Store sections in up to 128 layers • Regular and irregular stake values • Stake interval optionally decreased through curves • Graphically skew sections at any stake value • Optimize cut and fill areas graphically or automatically • Move sections vertically and/or horizontally • Generate sections from road profile layerwork definitions • List sections to screen, printer and/or ASCII file • Display section data in spreadsheet format • Display crossing services on cross sections

 

CROSS SECTION EDITING

• Insert, edit, delete and move cross section points • Remove points between two offsets in a specific chainage range • Expand or shrink sections • Create layerwork boxes by deducting a specified layer depth • Extend layerworks to meet batter slopes or to form a box • Transfer points between surfaces • Graphically edit sections with the following options: • displays centreline, chainage, offset and elevation • view up to 10 layers simultaneously • set magnification and vertical exaggeration • set grid spacing and colour • insert, move and delete surface points • Interpolate elevation at any point on an existing section • Add a fixed feature such as a V-drain onto the end of a section • Calculate section areas inside a defined polygon

 

DESIGN CRITERIA

• Create multiple design criteria files e.g. for each region or client • Supplied with TRH 17 design parameters • Design speed determines horizontal alignment, vertical alignment   and super-elevation parameters • Horizontal alignment: • minimum radii • minimum and maximum curve length • minimum tangent length • criteria for handling broken-back and compound curves • Vertical alignment: • by terrain type • minimum curve length • minimum K-values for sags and crests • maximum grades for each terrain type Super-elevation: • super-elevation for straights • lane factor • TRH and G2 development methods for transition curves • editable super-elevation graph • specify per design speed: • slope factor • minimum runoff length • maximum super-elevation • compound curve lengths • limiting tangent length for broken-back curves

 

HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT

• Handles parabolic and circular curves • Graphically insert, delete, edit and move HPIs • Move BC and EC points to adjust curve radius • Fit curves through control or fixed points • Transition curves (clothoid) or kinks (zero curve length) at HPI’s • Coordinate at regular and irregular stake values • Calculates centreline coordinates with: • join data between stake values • tangent data • setting out data from various stations and key points • offset coordinates • Extract cross sections at every stake value from digital terrain   model • Read centreline coordinates from digital terrain model • Calculate relative stake value and offset at any point • Long and short chains • Translate cross sections into YXZ survey data

 

VERTICAL ALIGNMENT

• Graphically insert, edit delete and move VPIs • Displays up to 4 ground profiles at user-defined offset and from   specified terrain surface • Grade envelope for each VPI • Grades and curves checked against design criteria • Symmetrical and asymmetrical vertical curves or kinks (no curve) • Cursor position dynamically displayed on plan layout • Status bar displays vertical curve info, grades and K value • Fit curves through control points • Calculate curve length from K value • Calculate stake line levels • Displays crossing services

 

	EDGE LEVEL CONTROL
• Super-elevation wizard links to horizontal alignment or freeform • Handle compound, reverse and broken back curves easily • Easily change road widths, cross falls and profiles • Provision for auxillary lanes • Calculates edge levels and identifies high and low points

 

	VOLUMES
• Areas and volumes between any 2 layers with bulking/compaction factors and top soil stripping • Cut/fill volumes and bank areas • Layerwork cut/fill volumes with cut/fill preparatory areas • Kerb Quantities

 

	SIGHT DISTANCE CHECKING
• Calculate sight distances in both directions of travel • 3D simulation - takes into account horizontal and vertical alignment • Specify eye height, object height and minimum sight distance

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	ROAD REHABILITATION
• Calculates horizontal alignment from survey data, CAD lines or   control points • Calculates vertical alignment from cross sections • Calculates super-elevation from cross sections

 

	ROAD EXPERT
• Automatically keeps track of design procedures done • Indicates what still needs to be done to complete the design • Run specified calculations without prompting • Options to specifically ask the program for certain input dialogs

 

	THREE DIMENSIONAL VIEWS (Requires Survey & Terrain)
• Rendered view of road and ground model • Bitmap draping for enhanced visualization • View from any angle • Print/save as a hi-res bitmap • “Drive” down the road and save the images in .AVI format

 

	CONSTRUCTION CONTROL
• Setting out data for stake line from various stations • Batter and profile boards • Layer checking and comparison

 

	INTERSECTIONS
• Design transition and bell mouth and calculate control positions • Calculate edge of road levels to identify low points

 

DRAWINGS

• Fully configurable layouts with long sections, cross sections and plan   plots on one sheet • Layout drawings with user-defined lines, horizontal curve details at   every curve, alignment tables and cut/fill hatching of road   embankments • Cross sections with up to 20 layers, specified line styles, labels,   annotations, grids and symbols • Long sections with up to 20 layers, multiple sections and pages,   automatic datum steps and pipe crossings from Sewer, Storm,   Water and Pipe designs • Automatically define plots along a road centerline • Key plan of multiple plots

 

	PIPE DATABASES
• Create databases for additional services • Display services on plan layout and as crossing services on long  sections and cross sections Back to top