Creates a superelevation section for the specified station range on the baseline reference to demarcate a stretch of roadway for superelevation calculations.

You can access this tool from the following:

In this tool the Civil horizontal geometry element is identified and station limits of the superelevation are defined. Station limits are useful if the horizontal alignment is substantially longer than the project limits. The section is drawn using the selected Feature Definition.

If a corridor is selected, then the user is prompted for the superelevation xml file, and the program will create the sections along the corridor's alignment, automatically create the lanes based on the corridor cross-section(s), calculate superelevation, and assign the superelevation to the corridor, all in one step. For the superelevation to be assigned (final step) to the corridor the corridor must exist in the active dgn file.

Determination of Sections

The general rule is to create a new section if you are using rules-based calculations and the through lane configuration, speed, or pivot/rotation method changes. In a basic rules-based project where the through lane pavement configuration is consistent (i.e., all 2-lane rural with a few turn lanes), a single section may be used. However, if there are significant changes to the road, i.e., changing from 2-lane rural to 4-lane divided, separate sections should be created. The changes should be based on the through lanes, as auxiliary lanes such as turn lanes, ramp entrances and exits and truck climbing lanes are handled independently. However, the auxiliary lanes must be drawn within a single section.

If you are importing superelevation from a CSV file, one section can be used for an entire alignment. The advantage of curve sets for each curve versus one large section is the ability to reprocess rules for a single curve set or two. Since rules are not used in an imported project, separate curve sets serve no useful purpose aside from shorter, piecemeal reports and more granularity in the editor.

Minimum Tangent Between Curves

The Minimum Tangent Between Curves value is the determining factor on how curve sets are defined. When using rule-based calculations, there are times when you need to reprocess part of the superelevation calculations, perhaps due to a horizontal geometry change or design speed revision. If your project is one big section, then reprocessing is performed on the entire section, and overwrites any manual editing. For flexibility, curve sets enable the processing of one curve or multiple curves, while leaving manually manipulated sets intact. In the following example, the distance between curves is 234.57 master units.

The following results illustrate the impact of the Minimum Tangent Between Curves.

Workflow for Sections Based Horizonal Geometry

1. Set MicroStation symbology to desire symbology.

2. Select the Create Superelevation Section tool.

3. Follow the heads-up prompts.

   Prompt	User Action
   Name	Name each section, suggestions include alignment name which the software appends with -1, 2, etcetera, for projects with multiple sections. If you have multiple corridors, use unique names for the sections.
   Locate Corridor or Alignment	Select the alignment to be used as a basis for superelevation lanes and calculations.
   Start Station	Graphically define (based on the dashed line perpendicular to the reference element) the beginning of the section. The station can also be keyed in and locked. Press <ALT> on the keyboard defaults and locks the start station to the beginning of the element.
   End Station	Graphically define (based on the dashed line perpendicular to the reference element) the end of the section. Station can also be keyed in and locked. Press <ALT> on the keyboard defaults and locks the end station to the end of the element.
   Minimum Tangent Between Curves	Enter a value (in master units). If the tangent distance between two adjacent curves is less the specified value, the two curves and adjacent tangent are included in a single superelevation section. If the tangent distance between two adjacent curves is greater the specified value, each curve and half of the adjacent tangent are included into each superelevation section. Enter a value larger than the total alignment length to create a single superelevation section. At the completion of this prompt, the sections are drawn and the software automatically advances to the Create Superelevation Lanes tool.

Workflow for Sections Based on a Corridor

1. Set MicroStation symbology to desire symbology.

2. Select the Create Superelevation Section tool.

3. Follow the heads-up prompts.

   Prompt	User Action
   Name	Name each section, suggestions include alignment name which the software appends with -1, 2, etc. for projects with multiple sections. If you have multiple corridors, use unique names for the sections.
   Locate Corridor or Alignment	Select the corridor to be used as a basis for superelevation lanes and calculations.
   Select XML Rule File	Select the XML-formatted rules file containing the superelevation standards/parameters. Use <ALT> <DOWN> to open the File Manager to select directory/ file. Data prompt to accept and move to the next prompt.
   Minimum Tangent Between Curves	Enter a value (in master units). If the tangent distance between two adjacent curves is less the specified value, the two curves and adjacent tangent are included in a single superelevation section. If the tangent distance between two adjacent curves is greater the specified value, each curve and half of the adjacent tangent are included into each superelevation section. Enter a value larger than the total alignment length to create a single superelevation section. At the completion of this prompt, the sections are drawn and the software automatically advances to the Create Superelevation Lanes.