AUTOMATED ROAD DESIGN

AUTOMATION OF ROADWAY DESIGN ENCOMPASSES NOT ONLY COMPUTER PROCESSING BUT A VARIETY OF DATA GATHERING TECHNIQUES. IN FACT, THE ROAD DESIGN SUBSYSTEM OF TIES TAKES ADVANTAGE OF AUTOMATED PROCEDURES IN THE EARLIER STAGES. FOREMOST AMONG THESE IS PHOTOGRAMMETRY, INCLUDING REMOTE SENSING, PHOTOGRAMMETRIC MAPPING, GROUND CONTROL, STEREOSCOPIC MODELLING, AND DIGITIZATION OF TERRAIN DATA FROM STEREO MODELS. A NON-TIES APPLICATION DEVELOPED BY THE DEPARTMENT IS AUTOMATIC DRAFTING OF PLANIMETRIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS. TIES ALLOWS THE DESIGNER TO EMPLOY MAPS AND STORED DATA TO ESTABLISH THE FINAL DIMENSIONAL ASPECTS OF THE ROAD. THE DIGITAL PLOTTER IS USED TO COMPLEMENT THE COMPUTER IN ALMOST EVERY SYSTEM PROCESS. TIES ALSO INCORPORATES A SUBELEMENT FOR ANALYTIC GEOMETRY COMPUTATIONS WHOSE RESULTS CAN BE STORED FOR LATER USE, E.G., TO ESTABLISH HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENTS. SEVERAL SPECIALIZED PROCESSES ARE AVAILABLE AFTER SUFFICIENT DATA ARE STORED. THE EARTHWORK DESIGN PROCESS OF TIES COMBINES ALL OF THE PERTINENT STORED DATA CONCERNING TERRAIN CROSS SECTIONS AND DESIGN PARAMETERS INTO COMPLETE DESIGN CROSS SECTIONS AND UP TO SIX ROADWAYS HAVING INDEPENDENT VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENTS CONNECTED BY MEDIANS AND INTERSECTED WITH THE TERRAIN. SPECIAL DITCH GRADES AND BENCH GRADES CAN BE INTRODUCED INTO BOTH MEDIAN AND SIDE-SLOPE DESIGN. AT THE COMPLETION OF THE EARTHWORK DESIGN PHASE, ALL INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR PRODUCING PERSPECTIVE VIEWS OF THE ROADWAY FROM ANY VANTAGE POINT IS AVAILABLE. THE ROADWAY DESIGN SUBSYSTEM ALSO EMPLOYS MODULARITY: IF A DESIGN PROCEDURE CHANGES OR IF STATES EMPLOY DIFFERENT PROCEDURES, THE AFFECTED MODULE OR MODULES CAN BE EASILY REPLACED WITHOUT DISRUPTING THE SYSTEM. EXPANSIONS OF THE SYSTEM INTO BRIDGE GEOMETRY AND PRELIMINARY LOCATION DESIGN ARE BEING MADE. THE SYSTEM CAN BE ADAPTED FOR TRAINING AND FOR DECENTRALIZED (I.E., REMOTE TERMINAL) UTILIZATION OF ALL INPUT AND OUTPUT FEATURES.