Users can customize the outcome of the road cross-section

Users may go to

Option > Project Parameters > Road > Detailing > Cross Section

Cross Section Type #

Users may change the cross-section type to either Input or Platform.

Input #

By default, the Cross Section Type will be set based on the Input.

With the type set to Input and including the slopes, the cross-section will be displayed following the RoadWidth Input and the default slope configuration.

Let’s say we set one side of the carriageway with a slope ratio of 1:0.8 — Despite the slope configuration having been changed, the slope displayed in the road cross-section follows the default slope ratio of 1:1.5 for a cut.

Platform #

If users choose the Cross Section type to Platform, the cross-section produced will be based on the properties of the platform.

Based on the example given above, the cross-section will be displayed as per the image below.

Advantages of the platform-based cross-sections #

Though it is recommended to opt for the input-based cross-sections, the platform-based approach is more useful when the roads are designed with various slope configurations as above.

Not only that, the sections will also be able to display every element that the cut lines crossed over, including the adjacent platforms, that is, if the lines are long enough. This is something that the input-based cross-sections are not able to do, whereby they can only display the exact road width elements input.

Limitations of the platform-based cross-sections #

Inaccurate labeling #

The road elements will be labeled following the road platform marking, typically having the same name as below.

This is different than the input-based cross-sections, in which the exact road width elements are known from the RoadWidth Spread Input. This allows the software to generate the labels accurately, as in below.

Dimensions discrepancies, compared to the road input #

Comparing the platform-based cross-sections to the RoadWidth input, it is noticeable that the displayed dimensions differ.

For example, the carriageway width input is 7.200m, but the displayed dimension is 7.206m, as shown in the image below.

The discrepancies above are due to the behavior of the software when it is creating the cross-sections.

For a platform-based cross-section, it is created similarly to the cut sections in the earthworks module — The road elements are first broken into platforms, and cross-section entities are created across those platforms. Since they are not exactly orthogonal to the platforms, there will be a very minimal precision loss, which can be identified by increasing the decimal places under the Project Settings.

As for the input-based cross-sections, they will not face this kind of discrepancy as they are created based on the road offsets under the RoadWidth Spread Input — With the cross-section always orthogonal to the road string and the exact elements’ width are known, the software can follow the accurate dimensions input by users.

Cross Section Table #

Users can customize the information in the table of the cross-section.

Users can go to

Option > Project Parameters > Road > Detailing > Cross Section > Table Row

Users can add more information by checking the list under the Key column. For example, by checking the CutDepth and FillDepth, they will appear under the cross-sections as per the image below.

Not only that, but the user can rearrange the position of the details in the cross-section table. To do so, users can just click on the ArrowUp or ArrowDown button at the top of the table.