Creating Roads

[spittle]

I've never done this before so have a few queries.

Attached are two JPEGs showing my proposed Site Layout and a section of the proposed access road.

I have an existing 3D surface for the entire area (switched off for clarity). I now need to create a proposed surface.

How hard would it be to create a C3D road following the exact curves of the one I have drawn in cad? (curves are defined by Autotrack akllow access for articulated vehicle)

Currently I'd use feature lines to draw the road edge and model it into my surface but it's a rubbish way of working as when the layout changes it's a real ****** to move everything around.

Ideally I'd like to:

- model my proposed surface
- grade this into my existing surface
- then create a proposed access road (including the loop)
- then grade this into both surfaces.

- I'd then like to have the option to be able to rearrange my site layout and move my road to suit.

Can I do this?

Any tips would be appreciated. Or an 'in-a-nutshell' summary.


Cheers

[lpseifert]

In a nutshell...
1. create an existing surface
2. create an alignment
3. create a profile
4. create a corridor

all subjects covered in the tutorials supplied with Civil 3D (Help > Tutorials)

[rustysilo]

And you might add a 4a. which would be to create your assembly(s) (cross section template) which is what you will use to create the corridor.

[spittle]

Thanks guys, had a scan over the tutorial and will hopefully try when I get time.

Currently we don't need to put any real effort into the design of the road so I can't spend much time on it. I'm just trying to reduce the amount of time spent reworking my surfaces and just need a quick solution.

In your experience is this a good approach for this?

all I know about the road is the levels around the loop, and that it needs to roughly follow the existing ground profile.

Is this pretty easy? How long would it take you guys to do this?

[lpseifert]

It's not hard once you learn a bit about C3D; probably for a draft it would take 2-3 hrs depending on the data you have for existing surface/ the topo and the detail needed.

[rustysilo]

You have to find your own "groove" when it comes to the tools and process you use. It can be accomplished with either feature lines and gradings, a corridor, or a combination. This looks like it would actually be a very simple one to do and like Seifert says, it would take a few hours.

[spittle]

And say at a later date you have to increase the size of the loop a bit, and increase the radius of some of the bends. What's involved in this? Is it just dragging points arround?

Also could you have the carpark included on the road design and the reverseing space for the truck shown on JPEG1? And is this easy enough to learn?

[rustysilo]

Edit's would be fairly easy. The tricky parts would be the 3 way intersection and then the carpark and truck spot (depending on how you decided to model them).

I'm not sure which part is the carpark? Looks like it is the upper right part of the loop? The truck spot I'm guessing is the place on the left?

[spittle]

I finally had time to create my first road corridor.

Now I'm trying to create a coridor surface so that I can create a grid volume surface. It appears to create the corridor surface ok, but when I try to create the volume surface it says 'Error Creating Surface'.

the only thing I can see as a potential error on my cut and fill for my corridor is there are a few gaps as you can see in the attached JPEG.

Any ideas?

The problem appears to occur when there is a transition between cut & fill.

[rustysilo]

Please explain how you went about creating the corridor and volume surfaces.

As far as the gaps in the corridor it appears that maybe the corridor did not intersect the existing ground surface at those points/areas.