Curve Widening: Introduction

Most of the widening is done by placing graphical elements in a MicroStation "plan view" design file.   Usually this is the MicroStation file that also contains your horizontal alignment.

These "widening" elements are drawn at exact offsets and using exact station ranges and must be drawn using Design and Computation Manager with Place Influence activated.

The user simply selects from one of many types of widening available through the D&C Manager category Define_dgn > Proposed. The example below illustrates selecting the item for drawing a widening line that matches the adjacent superelevation shape:

Screen shot

The WFL Project Manager Typical Sections are in sync with the element symbologies setup in the D&C Manager. Once again, the user must use the optional Place Influence toggle in order for the criteria to recognize the widening elements.

available widening selections are as follows:

Pavement Widening: (Paved shoulder)

  • Prop. Pavement Widening ... Adhoc attributes are now available and associated with this D&C item. The adhoc value instructs the criteria what value to use when drawing pavement widening. When this item is selected and the elements are drawn, the cross slope of the widening remains at that slope regardless of the cross slope of the superelevation shape. A rollover option is available from the Typical Sections that prevent the algebraic difference in cross slope from exceeding 8%.
  • Prop. Edge of Widened Shape... When this item is selected and the elements are drawn, the cross slope of the widening matches that of the superelevation shape at that pattern line.
  • Prop. Edge of Widened Existing Super... This item is reserved for use with the 3R Typical Section. When this item is selected and the elements are drawn, the cross slope of the widening matches that of the existing superelevation at that pattern line.

Shoulder Widening (Gravel shoulder):

  • Prop. Shoulder1 Widening...Adhoc attributes are now available and associated with this D&C item. The adhoc value instructs the criteria what value to use when drawing gravel shoulder widening. When this item is selected and the elements are drawn, the cross slope of the widening remains at that slope regardless of the cross slope of the superelevation shape. A rollover option is available from the Typical Sections that prevent the algebraic difference in cross slope from exceeding 8%.
  • Prop. Shoulder2 Widening...When this item is selected and the elements are drawn, the cross slope of the widening matches that of the superelevation shape at that pattern line.