How to create taper road in MES Road

The transition lane allows road users to change speed or change lanes when entering or leaving the roadway in a safe manner. Transition lane mostly located at the junction, entry and exit of the highway or transition between lanes for example from three lanes to two lanes roadway.

Steps to Assign Transition Lane #

Sample project file

This blogpost will provide the step by step guidelines to create a transition lane in the road module.

Step 1: Identify Road Entity #

• Once the road network is established together with road entities, identify the location of the taper road. For example, you want to add the transition lane at the highlighted section (refer image below). Then, the referred road entity will be “carriageway4”.

• This road entity will be important to ensure the correct addition of the sub-row in the next step. Please note that in case of multiple carriageways, the outermost part is the precise entity where the sub-row will be added.

Step 2: Use Sub-row Feature #

• With the road entity detected, we are now able to use the sub-row feature under New Road Offset. To add the sub-row, make sure ‘Road Width’ button is activated and click the ➕ sign under Spread Input.

• In the ‘New Road Offset’ setting, make sure the type is correct and change the ID to the entity that we have identified in Step 1. Adjust the Sub-rows numbers > Add > OK. Please note that for the sub-rows number, you may add according to your assumption first if you are not sure how many will be needed as it can be deleted or added accordingly later on.

• Once the sub-row is added, the carriageway will be divided into sections of equal-spacing chainage (may refer image below).

Step 3: Set the Width and Chainage #

• To set the transition lane, you may edit the width and chainage accordingly. Once you make changes to the values, it will be directly reflected in the input screen.

• Notice how the chainage and width are set to create the transition lane. If there are extra sub-rows added, then they can be deleted manually using the remove button.

What About the Transition Section for Other Entities? #

• Other than the carriageway, users are also allowed to assign transition sections for other entities such as shoulder, median or any other entities. The key is to use the sub-rows feature by assigning the correct type and ID before adding the sub-rows

• Below are the samples of the transition section created for shoulder and median types with the width and chainage setting under spread input.