Quick Reference

This section lists the steps required for road design generation.

1. Acquire Terrain
   The first step is to acquire terrain upon which to design the road. The terrain must consist of a triangulated surface. This surface can be generated from survey data, photogrammetry or by digitising maps.
2. Open Road Design File
   All design work is placed in this file.

   Option: Iroad > Files > Load.

3. Set Road Default Design Parameters
   Set the default design parameters, for example default alignment, intersection points, super elevation values, slope of batters.

   Option: Iroad > Files > Set Up.

4. Set Additional Default Design Parameters
   These relate to topography, subsurfaces, label size (for plotting), bulking factor and haulage costs. Setting these defaults will eliminate Vulcan asking you for these details (they can also be set when creating the actual design work).

   Option: Iroad > Files > Topography, Subsurface, Bulking Factor, Haul Costs.

   Note The text settings specified under the Defaults : 2D Text section of the Tools > Preferences option are used when labelling the plot of the road design.
5. Create Horizontal Intersection Points (IPs)
   Position each of the horizontal IPs and assign a radius to each point.

   Option: Iroad > Edit > Intersection Points.

6. Generate Horizontal Alignment
   Fit an alignment to the IPs. If you are not satisfied with the placement, then the IPs can be repositioned or the radius changed until a satisfactory alignment is produced.

   Option: Iroad > Edit > Design Alignment.

7. Generate Long Section
   After designing a successful horizontal alignment, a long section of the terrain under the alignment is generated and set in a long section view.

   Option: Iroad > Edit > Long Section.

8. Create Vertical Intersection Points (IPs)
   Together with the terrain long section, the vertical IPs are positioned and the parabola lengths specified for each entered point.

   Option: Iroad > Edit > Intersection Points.

9. Generate Vertical Alignment
   The current horizontal alignment is modified by the vertical IPs. If the vertical alignment is not satisfactory, then the vertical IPs can be repositioned and the procedure repeated until a satisfactory alignment is found.

   Option: Iroad > Edit > Design Alignment.

10. Design Road Cross Sections
    When the final alignment is produced, a road surface cross section can be designed, along with a super elevation diagram. These sections are applied to the alignment to produce a set of cross sections along the alignment that has been modified according to the super elevation and the natural terrain.

    Option: Iroad > Edit > Road Sections, Apply Sections, Design Superel.

11. Join Road Lines
    The cross sections can all be joined to produce strings following batter and hinge points, road lanes, shoulders and verges.

    Option: Iroad > Edit > Connect Sections.

12. Calculate Cut and Fill Volumes
    Having created the cross sections, the cut and fill volumes can be calculated. The whole process can then be repeated to minimise the earthworks.

    Option: Iroad > Quantities > Triangle or End Area.

Related topics:

• Overview
• Data Structure
• Terminology