Welcome to conceptualizing and
analyzing road design options.
In minutes and not days.
My name's Dan Ahearn.
I'm part of the open roads
designer product management team.
And today I'm here to share with you,
some ideas on how you can create
conceptual designs very quickly using
our concept station software will talk
about bringing in contextual data
modeling roads little bit of rail.
But this also applies throughout to
rail will model some intersections and
roundabouts bridges check clearance.
Add some St furniture,
such as lighting to the project.
Compare some different scenarios,
and most importantly,
do some cost estimating 'cause ultimately
that's what we've got to be looking
at is we're engineering different
conceptual solutions to a problem.
Now the problem that we're going
to be taking a look at today during
this session as well as the 3.
Companion sessions to this well,
we'll look at detailed road design.
Is looking at a project area here
that we see outlined now the goal
here is to improve Accessibility to
the North side of an existing rail.
We're going to explore adding a new
rail station commuter rail station
as well as tying a new road into
existing infrastructure on both.
East and West ends of the project
so you can see here where we're
tying in on the East and West ends.
We've got a little flexibility and where
we place. The road where we place.
The rail stations were going to look at
2 particular rail station options here.
And the geometry that needs to
go along with that for the road.
Now,
using open roots concept station
allows us to quickly move and
compare different ideas to full
3D models that we can.
Resent to the owners or to the public.
It also helps us rapidly
evaluate different alternatives,
while understanding the
financial implications of those.
And then sharing those realistic
visualizations back out with people.
Now it's all going to begin by being
able to bring in content contextual
data that terrain model and that.
Imagery of what exists in the.
Area we can bring that in from
a Geo Coordination Service.
If you have no other data around and
that's what we're going to do here 1st.
So will type in the area where we're
working at this little project is
located in costs harbor and New South Wales,
Australia.
Will sketch a boundary around the
area where we're concerned where
we want to go out and gather data?
So we're going to sketch kind of the
rough overall project boundary here
and then we're going to ask the.
The software to go out to a free service.
An find terrain data and imagery
that we can bring down in this area.
So we'll choose to bring that in
from a Geo coordination service here.
And it's next going to ask us.
What kind of data. We want to bring in.
In our example.
Here we're going to bring in just
some terrain data.
As well as some Bing map imagery data.
Now, depending on what kind of data you bring
in different resolutions may be available.
We're going to select the
high resolution to rain here,
the best that we can get.
And it will go out and grab that data and
bring it in and we can see that here.
Now this is not going to be high
enough resolution data to do detailed
design and construction out of.
But it's certainly going to be
high enough resolution to do
some early conceptual planning.
As you move a little further along in
the project or if it's a project that's
been invested in a little bit more.
And maybe you've gone out and actually done
some surveying or flown some drain drones.
In the area and collected some terrain data.
Some reality models in the area.
You can certainly use that data as well.
So instead of using the Geo coordination
service like we saw in the last example.
I'm just going to skip that.
Open up into a blank project space and then I
could go in and attach my own reality model.
Which we do have in this area a
little higher resolution model
that we have flown in brought in?
So no matter how you want to bring your
data in whether you want to grab that
off the free services that there are.
Out there or whether you want to
bring in your own higher resolution
data you can certainly do that.
So we'll move forward now and look
at modeling a roadway in here as we
model roads with concept station.
It's going to be very quick and easy
point and Click to layout where we
want the road behind the scenes.
We're going to use some design
standards and compute.
Reasonably appropriate geometry for
this give you some different options for
how your vertical geometry is computed.
It will automatically layer on even
the pavement markings for it to
give you a realistic model quickly.
We're going to say we want to place a Rd.
Now it all starts by defining a
class of that rotor classification.
In this case, we're going to define
urban principle arterial.
That classification is what is going to
define the geometric rules that we can use?
How sharp of a curve?
Can we have?
What kind of superelevation?
Do we need those types of things?
Second,
we're going to define the cross section
of the road or the template of the road.
In this example,
I'm going to use A3 Lane Center
turn templates.
I've got asphalt pavement 3 lanes.
The center one will be eternally those
templates can be customized and you can
define him to meet your specific needs.
Will give the road a name
and will define it speed.
The speed again comes back to
the geometric computations.
The superelevation and such so that
we can compute those correctly.
Well then start laying out where we
want our road to be at we're going to
tie in near this existing roundabout,
so I'll start putting in some.
Points of intersection here where this
road is going to go and as I start drawing.
The road number.
One you see the road geometry being
created you also see these kind of
yellow boundaries popping up there.
Those are the in conditions or the cut
and fill slopes that are being computed
dynamically as I lay out this road.
Based on the vertical geometry that
it's also laying out in this example,
I've asked it to best fit.
Vertical geometry. You will see and
you can certainly adjust that later.
So that you know exactly what
it's doing there.
So, in this first example.
I'm going to tie in kind of where this,
existing road tide back in here on the.
Lest into the project.
Now let's take a look at some edits that
we could make to that same geometry.
We could edit both the horizontal
and vertical here as we needed to.
All the editing is done heads
up and very dynamic in nature,
so if I selected this piece of geometry.
Right on a curve in this case,
I could go in and I could
change the radius of that curve.
Maybe wanted to flatten it out a little
bit and make that a 250 meter curve.
Perhaps in this area here where we're
looking at building a rail station
on the South side of the road or
between the road and the rail here.
We may want to make some adjustments,
maybe wanted to grab one of
these pies and move it.
A little further N give us a little
more space for a parking lot in there.
As we make any adjustments on here.
Everything is re computed for us,
the Super elevations redone.
The Geometrize redone.
The cut and fill slopes are redone.
All of that happens very
quickly and very real time.
Now,
taking a look at the long sections
or the profiles or vertical geometry
on this we can open up that.
Trey will call it at the bottom
will see our existing ground
as well as our design profile.
And we can make any and all adjustments.
We want there just like we saw
with the horizontal geometry.
We can move around IPS or points
of intersection.
We can add new points of
intersection into the model,
we can adjust curves either
by their curve length.
Or by their K values.
Now in this. East End of the project,
which is the left end of our
vertical geometry because our our
horizontal geometry was drawn from.
East to West in this case.
On this East End of our project.
We need to tie into the existing ground very,
very closely here because we've got some
existing businesses in some accesses
and stuff that we don't want to.
Have a major disturbance too.
So we'll adjust some curves in here
and some of the Pi coordinates
a little bit to get that.
Adjusting in very cleanly there too,
that existing edge.
Cross sections are also an important
part of what we need to look at here.
You do see a full cross section in here,
so we can open up the cross
section tray at the bottom.
We can look at cross sections.
There is an indicator in the plan view of
where we're looking at those cross sections,
so we can see that as well.
You see your pavement depth
on the cross sections.
Wherever was defined in the template
just as you would expect you should?
As we move up into this curve area here,
we can see that this is a super
elevated section so even though we
didn't have to do anything there.
The superelevation does get
applied automatically.
That's based on our design speed and our
classification or road that we selected.
So we can quickly move through
some different cross sections.
We can see if our roads,
behaving the way we expect it to.
We can also take measurements
within the cross section space so
if you wanted to measure say along
this in condition here between.
And see that we've got 5.1 meters
of Phil height here at a 33% slope.
So you can evaluate your designs very
quickly with these tools as well.
Now let's look at laying out
a second option for the road.
We're going to repeat the same
process we did just a minute ago.
Choose that we want to place a new
road define the classification
still in urban principle arterial
here and then we'll sketch in where
we want that road to exist at.
So we'll define the horizontal
geometry of it.
As we're defining that the
verticals being built.
The cut fill slopes are being built.
The full models being generated.
Now in the West end the project here,
we're going to go a little bit.
Further north,
and tie in at this little
intersection right here in this 2nd.
Option.
Leaving us a little bit more room
for a rail station at this location.
Now we've decided that we
actually like that second option,
so let's look at what it's
going to take to build a that.
North South road that ties into this.
Now the first option,
we're going to look at is what would it
take if we kind of match that existing N
South road right there and we still hadn't?
At Grade Railway crossing so
we're going to go in and place.
Another road but a little
different classification.
This is going to be a rural local road.
It's going to be a 2 Lane Rd with
some sidewalks and some curb on it,
so will select an appropriate template.
And the appropriate classification.
The design speed for this is slower as well,
30 kilometres an hour.
We can sketch in where that road goes.
We can look at the long section or
the vertical geometry of that Rd.
In this case,
I did not ask it to best fit.
I just said put me in a straight line
and I'll manually go put that in.
So now I'm going to come in and
start laying out where I want that
geometry to be out on the road.
Or notice as I move this P around.
I also see that location in the plan.
View so I can figure out where
that existing rail is at.
So I know I need to be at grade right
there 'cause, I gotta cross the rail.
So I can make sure that I'm matching
that elevation there and then.
Put whatever other peas in that
I may want to adjust it.
Now,
when we're crossing another element
that we've designed in here
such as the other main roadway.
I see that showing up in my.
Crossing section as well so I can see
that in the Roadway Inn Blue there.
So there's a potential solution
that comes very close to matching
existing grade existing roadway.
Now here's a second option that we
want to explore and look at here,
maybe with a grade separated Rd.
So it's still going to be a rural
Rd classification or same 2 Lane
roadway 30 kilometers an hour.
But we're going to layout a
little bit different geometry.
Let's tie in a little further
to the South here.
And give us room to build up some
elevation across up and over the Top
of the rail instead of having it.
At grade rail crossing.
So layout some geometry here
where we want this to tie in.
And then we can look at our vertical.
Or our profile geometry
that we need to do that.
So will tie in at the left and
right edges of the project.
We need to tie into our
existing grade still there.
So that's accurate.
So we'll get those adjusted into there.
We know we need to tie into the new
roadway that we're building here.
So let's add a pie in at this location
to start bringing that down a little bit.
Will refine that, after we get our
rail crossing fully settled here.
So let's also look now at our
rail crossing so I've built in
the rail so I can see where my
new rail is going to be out here.
And I need about a 5 metre clearance above.
This rail or that is my
minimum clearance I need.
I'm going to just estimate
about where that's at right now,
just WS visually using the grid on
the screen to look at what looks to
be about 5 meters of clearance and
will validate that here in a minute.
Little flatter curve coming over
the Top of this make it a little
more comfortable to drive.
So we look at a solution here
that looks close.
Let's go ahead and adjust where
we're tying into our new roadway
a little bit more so that we got
a A reasonably clean intersection
will come back and build out that
intersection here in a few minutes,
but we want to. To get our geometrize close.
So here's a potential solution
that will work for us,
so let's take this solution a little
further and let's put a bridge in.
Over the rail there and then we can
measure the actual clearance between
the bridge and the rail and see if our.
Geometry is acceptable or not so
the bridges that we can layout in
here does allow you to layout the
superstructure as well as the deck.
The beams and girders in that
superstructure the support columns.
The abutments in a reasonable
level of detail so will go to
our place bridge structure tool.
We can pick different structure types
in this case will place a girder bridge.
We pick our template for the deck structure.
So we want to match that same
Tulane with sidewalks.
We can choose the types of
beams that we want to use.
Now this bridge tools,
not doing the analytics of it.
So we're choosing the depths of
the beams that we want in here.
What types appears we're going to put
in if we have a multi segment bridge?
What kinds of abutment walls
that we want to put in.
And then we identify the beginning
and ending of the bridge.
So I'm just going to mark in that
the bridge is going to go from.
About their to their will start with that,
so, based on our definitions in
the types of abutment walls.
We've used in this case,
we've got some.
Abutment slopes in here we can see,
those being displayed.
If I'm going to use that style of abutment.
I may want to back the bridge or lengthen
the bridge out a little bit so that I
have room for those sloped abutments.
And not interfering with the rail in there,
which is what I'm going to do in this
case now notice here that the bridge
is perpendicular to the roadway.
I could leave it that way or I
could also skew the bridge to be.
A parallel to the rail if you
chosen one or to do that.
Everything that we're building
is always being built in 3D.
So we could rotate around at
anytime and look at it.
So that we can kind of see our bridge
in our rail a little bit easier here.
And then let's use one of our
measurement tools to check the clearance
between that rail in that bridge.
So we'll select the bridge
object itself and say, well,
I want to calculate the
clearance between this bridge.
And this railroad that's going under it,
and we see in this case,
we've only got 4.12 meters of clearance.
Am I specification required
5 meters of Clarence.
I know so I need to.
Either lower the rail or
raise the road in this case,
the rail is fixed so I have
to raise the road.
So I'll go back into the
geometry for the road.
Notice that the bridge is
now showing on here as well.
And I can select that geometry
make an adjustment to
it.
Everything's re computed the bridge is re
computed the roads are already computed
the abutment slope sorry computed.
I could go in and run that measurement again.
We've got exactly 5 meters of clearance now,
so no room for error but we do.
Satisfy our requirement at 5 meters.
So now we've got an acceptable
solution for that bridge as well.
So let's move on a little further
and let's model our intersection here
where those 2 roadways come together.
The intersection modeling tools
allow you to bring together any
number of legs of intersections that
you need in this case, we've got.
A4 leg an intersection that's
built off of 3 different roadways,
so will select those 3 roadways.
It builds the different legs.
Notice that the roadway templates
don't match in this case,
it will still work that out.
The geometry that's built on
the intersection is also very
customizable so I can go in and I can
select the resultant intersection.
And I can adjust almost any
component of this for example,
if I wanted to change the
radius of one side of it.
We're all of the sides of the intersection.
I could do that I could.
Add additional lanes as I
approach an intersection.
If I needed a turn Lane are needed to
widen out a template as I approached it.
So all of that is very flexible and
very judge estibaliz you place.
Intersections in your models
also notice that it puts in all
the striping for you,
depending on your needs.
In this case,
we're doing a left hand drive 'cause.
It's down in Australia,
so that is the style of striping
that we're getting.
Now let's model an additional road
that's going to connect these 2
together and give access to our rail
station in our future parking lot.
Down here to find the Class A road again.
It's going to be a local roll road
that same Tulane with sidewalks.
We'll define about where this
road is going to start I'm just
clicking close to that Rd.
We know we need to come down off.
This Hill and get down to the bottom
where a rail station is going to
be at so let's come down and maybe
give it a little curve in here to.
To work out some of that vertical distance.
Run along parallel to the front
of the rail there and then will
tie back into this other Rd.
We need to build out
these intersections here,
so let's put a roundabout in where
we're tying into our primary road here.
Works very much like the intersection we
define are inscribed not scribe radius.
We pick the legs that are going
to come into this. In this case,
it's just a three legged roundabout and
it builds out that geometry structure
for us all of that could be adjusted
just like we saw with our intersection.
Will put another little intersection in over
here to the left a little T intersection.
And very quickly our model starts
coming together now in this case,
we've generated some pavement
striping that we don't.
Want I actually want this N South
Road to be a through road.
Not have stopped bars here,
so we can go in and just adjust that.
Pick the stop bar tell it.
We don't want to display that
I could adjust the center line
striping and pull it down so it's
continuous through that intersection.
It's very flexible and being able to
customize the data that you're laying out.
As we take our model A little bit further.
We may want to add a little bit more of
that visual context to it to make it more
realistic to people things like light.
Polls or guardrails fences soundwall
signs benches those types of
things what we call St Furniture.
So here we're going to play some
St furniture, along an existing
alignment will pick some a light pole
that we're going to put in there,
so we'll go select one of the
light poles out of the.
Library will tell it what kind of
spacing that we want to place on
this and what angle to that roadway.
I'm not sure if that angle is
zeros right or not,
but I can always adjust it later.
So I'll pick where I want that.
Furniture to start along that
alignment notice it's automatically
following the alignment.
That were next to and I pick the endpoint.
As I accept that and I zoom
in a little bit here,
you can see the light poles
that it's created.
Now I did get the rotation
wrong at 0 was incorrect,
so I do need to rotate these so
the lights are out over the road,
but I can always adjust that.
Set it at 270 that wasn't right either
OK set it at 90 and I've got the correct.
So I don't have to know how
somebody drew that originally I
can easilly make adjustments to it.
I could adjust the precision of where
we place these offset from the roadway.
Let's say it just sketched that
in maybe I want them at exactly 7,
1/2 meters, I could.
Easily,
just select that update it through
the heads up display to make
those exactly where I want him.
Rotate around just like everything
else that we're building in here.
Everything is done in 3D all the time.
So we see our light poles that are
being generated there along our Rd.
Maybe we recognize that the 15
minute meter spacing wasn't correct.
We really needed that at 30 meters again,
you could.
Easily go in and adjust that with
the properties that are in here
and set those at 30 meters.
Now we've looked at building different
scenarios as we've gone through this.
So far what I haven't shown you that
is that we can actually track all
those scenarios, so that you can.
Jump back and forth and do
comparisons and cost estimating
between them very quickly as well,
let's take a look at that.
Appear in the Top right corner is
where our scenarios are selected
from so as I've gone through and
built these different processes the?
The Master Colas Option,
one and 2 that was our East West Road
and then a couple different options for
Mckays road that was the North S 1.
In our final station in there,
we can see that I've saved off those
different scenarios as I built this out.
So I could go in and select
one of those scenarios,
and view it so if I turn on
the Master Colas option one.
We now see that design appear in there.
This was the design where we are
looking at a rail station over here
on the eastern side of our project.
I could select master colas option
2 and will see that first option
disappear in the second option appear.
This is the one we were looking
at the rail station over here
on the left or the West.
Side of the project,
I could quickly toggle back and forth
between those so I could go in and
select master colas option one again.
Or toggle back over to master colas option 2,
so you can see you can quickly
and easily move back and forth
between these different options.
So since we selected option two
was our preferred choice here.
Let's zoom in on this left area and we
can now layer on another option with that.
Well,
now,
we've got option 2 for East West
Rd Way and I turn on option
one for our N South roadway.
Or I can compare that against option
two with our bridge for that N
South roadway so we're bringing.
Together combinations here of
different options that we've built out.
And finally we could move on
to the final option,
where we picked option 2 for the East West.
Option 2 for the North S plus we
built out this road for rail station.
In our round about that,
we built in here and we get a final
option that shows everything.
Now, those same options can be used
to do cost estimating in here as
well so at any point in time when
you're working in concept station.
You can ask to see the cost
estimate for your project.
In this case looking at Master Colas Option,
One, the current option is looking
at somewhere around 3.8 million.
If we looked at an option 2
it's about a 3.5 million.
So we can quickly do some evaluations now,
what it's doing to compute these
different options is look at the actual.
Earthworks and pavement structures
and such based on some design values.
And give you an estimated cost as
we step through more scenarios.
We bring in option one for our N South
roadway puts us at about 3:00 in .9 million.
Bring an option two with the
bridge increases a bit more.
It's at 7.5 million.
Big jump,
but we would expect that 'cause it's now
it's brought in a bunch of structural costs.
Earthwork costs are higher 'cause.
We've got a lot of Phil
going on to build that.
Um ramps as we come up to the bridge there.
And then we could look at the
overall final project here numbers.
That's kind of bringing in
everything all the roundabouts all
the striping all the lighting.
All of that and it brings it
up to about a twenty one and a
half million dollar project.
Now,
what we're seeing on the screen right
now is just a snapshot of the basic
categories of your cost estimate.
But you can also expand that out,
and you can get into more details
with those so here we can see
the more detailed breakdown.
Of how those earthworks in payments
and structures were computed as well
as some other ancillary elements
like drainage and electrical which
are computed on a percentage basis.
All of that percentage basis as well
as the unit cost for those other
items are fully user defineable.
So that you can get to an ultimate
cost that matches your local needs all
of this can be exported out to a spreadsheet?
So you can do further refinement an
adjustment with the data out there
if you do have multiple scenarios
in your project like we did.
Each of those will get exported to
a different tab in the spreadsheet
so all of that financial information
carries forward.
And we can take a look at it out there.
Well,
thank you for joining us today
for this session.
We do have three other sessions.
I would encourage you to look at where
will take this project a little further.
And look at the detailed
design behind that roadway.
The rail stations.
The parking lots that go with it,
so please join us for those
other sessions as well.
Thank you again.