[IR SS2] Generate H & V geometry from point elements?

I have received several files from our surveyors that have any number of points drawn into them. These are not COGO points. They are spot elevation points shot along the centerline of a road. They are graphic cell elements, more or less in a line, that I need to generate horizontal and (corresponding) vertical geometry from.

i have no idea how to turn this collection of spots into an alignment, let alone how to get that alignment to read and generate its own vertical geometry from the spot point elevations.

Can this be done strictly from elements? Do I need to request the FWD file (If so, what do I do with it)?

I know I can import the symbols to be COGO points, but that isn't getting me any closer to a solution.
Chain Points looks promising, but that wants me to physically click from point to point to point to point...
Create Alignment from COGO points looks promising also, but it doesn't do what I think it does.
Curve fitting looks interesting, but that appears to be more for refining AFTER I've chained the points together.

Any suggestions or guidance?
Thank you.
MaryB
Power InRoads 08.11.07.615

Parents
  • Mary:

    Your post confuses me somewhat, because the points in question should never be considered to be an alignment; the points in question merely form a breakline feature which could be independent of a terrain model/ DTM but should not be considered as part of an alignment/ control geometry. Do you not have an existing set of plans from which the road was originally built and from which you could create an actual alignment/ geometry project and drape that alignment upon a surface for elevation values?

    We do centerline shots as well here, but they merely create an additional breakline for our terrain model' they are not considered to be an "alignment". You  could always create a breakline from the points you have and project that feature anywhere you deem necessary, of course. 

    Do you have an actual NEED to create an *.alg from these points, or are you merely in need of a breakline feature for projection?

    Mark

    Mark Anthony Plum
    Chief Technology Officer

    1601 N.W. Expressway, Suite 400
    Oklahoma City, OK  73118
      
  • All I have are these points. 3D points with X,Y,Z. Strung along in a roughly linear display, but just single point symbols. Hundreds of them. That's it. No surface, no plans, nothing. Just points.

    I was given a drawing with a bunch cell elements representing spot elevations taken along the centerline of the road. I have been told to "bring it in" so that the engineers can perform passing sight distance checks.

    We are working on a pavement marking inventory for one of the counties. As part of that inventory we will be assessing/redesigning passing zones. It was decided (by the powers that be) that the best way to get horizontal and vertical information for all of the roads in the inventory would be to send out surveyors, who would collect points along the centerlline of each road. My job is to get that data into some form of geometry (be that 3D feature or alignment with H & V) that can be used to analyze and document that analysis.

    I am not wedded to the idea of an alignment, but I am concerned that I cannot make a terrain feature if I have no terrain. I am also concerned that I cannot generate a profile window without an alignment. If I can make a feature without needing any kind of supporting terrain, and distances along that feature can be determined and annotated, and that feature can be used to create a profile window that will show the elevations of that feature, then that is all I need.

    I still don't know how to generate a linear feature out of a bunch of spots, either.

    MaryB

    Power GeoPak 08.11.09.918
    Power InRoads 08.11.09.918
    OpenRoads Designer 2021 R2

        

  • Mary:

    OK, then. The one "sure-fire" manner to do this would be to create a 3D linestring by snapping to each one of these points (yes, I know that there are a lot of them...), create a blank geometry project, and then to import the string graphically as both horizontal and vertical geometry. Such would "flatten" the string for the horizontal alignment and also provide a vertical child to that horizontal geometry. In order to get a surface (to produce a profile), you could create a blank surface and import that same string as a breakline feature and triangulate it to create a DTM. So, connecting the dots is tedious, but it would work to create what you need. 

    You could also ask the surveyors to connect the dots via a feature code which would create a linestring automatically based upon the code (assuming the code was parsed to create a breakline feature). 

    Mark

    Mark Anthony Plum
    Chief Technology Officer

    1601 N.W. Expressway, Suite 400
    Oklahoma City, OK  73118
      
Reply
  • Mary:

    OK, then. The one "sure-fire" manner to do this would be to create a 3D linestring by snapping to each one of these points (yes, I know that there are a lot of them...), create a blank geometry project, and then to import the string graphically as both horizontal and vertical geometry. Such would "flatten" the string for the horizontal alignment and also provide a vertical child to that horizontal geometry. In order to get a surface (to produce a profile), you could create a blank surface and import that same string as a breakline feature and triangulate it to create a DTM. So, connecting the dots is tedious, but it would work to create what you need. 

    You could also ask the surveyors to connect the dots via a feature code which would create a linestring automatically based upon the code (assuming the code was parsed to create a breakline feature). 

    Mark

    Mark Anthony Plum
    Chief Technology Officer

    1601 N.W. Expressway, Suite 400
    Oklahoma City, OK  73118
      
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