Normally, a superelevation element tells the corridor what slope establishes the edge of pavement elevation. I'd like to have a tool that creates a superelevation element from an already-formed 3D element.
There are at least a couple use cases I can think of:
- I have recently worked on a project that required a detour. The south end of the detour was tying into a tangent section with no superelevation. The north end of the detour was tying into an existing curve with superelevation.
- I am now working on a project that features a short but permanent realignment as part of a much larger project. The existing roadway is superelevated through a couple curves. I will need to tie in superelevation, and besides, I'd like to have an estimate of the existing superelevation mostly for tying purposes but also as a record of what is already there.
After creating the superelevation element, I should be able to obtain a report on it just as I can do with proposed superelevation elements. I suspect that establishing this superelevation element would involve these prompts:
- Supply the baseline that the superelevation element will be following.
- For starters, I'd say that the baseline that the superelevation element will be following is the most likely candidate for the element from which superelevation is measured, but this could be improved with a more thorough review. For example, the traverse of the centerline may be a little wobbly and therefore cause trouble getting a good result.
- Supply the linear element from which superelevation will be computed.
And the computer processing should add a superelevation transition point at every point where there is a bend or a profile break in either the baseline element or the other linear element.
Thanks.
FYI, currently I'm running Geopak SS4 .872.