OpenROADS Vertical Geometry Tools

Question

What vertical geometry tools should I use to create a proposed profile that is 2 inches above the existing terrain and has 50' transitions back to existing elevation at both ends? I was able to create the 2" build up no problem using the "Profile from Surface" tool , but cannot figure out how to create the 50' transitions. In SS2 I would place calculation lines on my profile at the tie ins and then offset them in 50' and snap lines between that calc line and the 2" build up, but the new profile viewer does not allow you place calculation lines so I can't locate the exact station to tie in. I'd like something to snap to versus typing in the station so there isn't a rounding issue.

Robert Garrett · Accepted Answer

Yep, sure. Here is another video. I focused on just the creation of rules to a plan element. So here what you see is: 
 
 I am looking at the end of the alignment this time and I ignored the 2inches offset discussed previously. 
 Profile Line Between Points Command but works with any command. 
 Use civil Accudraw in profile 
 When prompted for the first point in the line, I Tentative snap to the end of the edge of pavement in plan. This locks the station and creates a rule to the plan element. 
 Then if the edge of pavement position changes then the profile updates.

Beebe Ray · Answer

What do you mean by not allowing calculation lines in profile? You can draw anything you want in the profile view and use it to construct other geometry. 
 
Also can you project from surface 50' after the start and end 50' before the end. then draw an element from the beginning of existing to the beginning of the offset profile. Do the same at the end and complex them together.

Beebe Ray · Answer

Another collegue of mine had a suggestion. I have not tried it personally yet but it may assist. Use civil accudraw in the Profile View. The first point would be surface offset = 0.0 from existing ground and station = to start station, the second point would be surface offset = 2" and delta station of 50. If you have a moment to try that and see if you find that it gives the results you want.

Derek Schmidt · Answer

What does "calculation line" mean? It sounds like it might mean the profile line following the 2" overlay. If so, since you say "I did set my project from surface profile to start 50' after the start and 50' before the end, so they are set to be tied to", I would guess there's no more to be done but to connect the dots: Are you using the Profile Line Between Points to connect from the beginning to the 50' in? When using this tool, you can snap to the existing profile at the beginning of your project and then snap to the point where your full 2" overlay begins. To make sure the snap is at your BOP and EOP, draw vertical lines in the profile model (not necessarily civil lines, as profile lines are generally decidedly not vertical; but a common Microstation line will do), and then when you're putting together your feather, snap at the intersection of the new Microstation line and the existing profile. 
 PS: Beebe Ray's solution is considerably more elegant than this and better honors design intent. I had guessed that this tool probably exists but I wasn't sure.

David Neidig · Answer

Thank you for the response. I was missing one step. Whenever I would try to place a 50 foot Non "civil" line in my profile view I would get a circle with a slash through my cursor, which is why I thought it had to be a civil line. All I had to do was click on my secondary screen and the line then became available. Wow, not sure how I missed that. Thank you for your help.

Robert Garrett · Answer

Hi David: Here is a video showing the use of Civil Accudraw in the workflow you describe. As you have found, you can indeed use construction lines and snaps to solve the problem. I encourage you to explore Civil Accudraw in plan and profile workflows because it will solve many problems more efficiently than other workflows. In your specific example, Civil Accudraw is a technically better solution because snap rules are sometimes unreliable. If you snap to a vertex that is not the start point or end point then the snap rules may not update as expected if changes are made to the design. 
 In this video you will see: 
 
 I created an offset profile from existing ground. I used a 1 ft offset instead of 2inches for better clarity in the video. I made a blunder here when first starting because I set the start and end station incorrectly, so I changed these in properties. 
 Then I used civil accudraw in profile with the Profile Line Between Points command to transition to existing ground. Geometrically, for my data, this is not a very good transition. But it shows the use of civil accudraw to lock the offset from a surface. You will also notice that I used a station keyin rather than a snap for reasons noted above. 
 Then I repeated the process using curve between points command. Same thing as line between points using civil accudraw. 
 Also keep in mind the following not shown in the video. 
 This workflow is valid for any of the profile commands. Civil Accudraw simply assists in defining points. So whichever command provides the best geometric transition can be used. 
 In the video I used keyed in station values, but you can also snap in plan view (such as beginning of the edge of pavement, which locks the station and rules it to whatever you snapped. 
 IN the video I used the original ground surface with zero and 1.0 offsets using accudraw. You could also use zero offset from the two different lines which is perhaps a better rule to preserve for design intent

David Neidig · Answer

That video was perfect and I see the design intent in doing that. Thanks Robert.

OpenROADS Vertical Geometry Tools

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