WisDOT subassemblies and superelevation (Civil 3D 2012 and beyond)

Civil 3D 2012 provides new superelevation controls. This content explains what the new functionality means for users of the WisDOT subassembly library.

The C3D2012 stock subassembly library is built to work in tandem with new superelevation controls in the superelevation wizard to add flexibility in defining how corridors handle superelevation. If you want to explore the new superelevation controls, build an assembly using Autodesk's LaneSuperelevationAOR subassembly, run through different combinations of superelevation configurations, and monitor the changes to the assemblies' behavior in a corridor. Controls like the inputs for Potential Pivot, Slope Direction, and specifying SE side different from insertion direction all work to allow flexibility in defining the Axis of Rotation through superelevation transitions.

The WisDOT subassembly library is not built to use this functionality. In fact, with some combinations of Superelevation wizard inputs, WisDOT subassembly corridors will produce a slew of error messages and may not read the intended lane slopes. The WisDOT subassembly library already has the superelevation controls needed for WisDOT design standards built into lane and shoulder subassembly logic. If you choose to use the WisDOT library for your roadway lanes and shoulders, the alignment superelevation should be developed in the superelevation wizard as follows:

Remember to run the Superelevation Update macro and you now have the baseline superelevation properties needed to use WisDOT subassemblies in your corridors. This same Undivided – Crowned superelevation setup will work for all cases of general roadway design with WisDOT subassemblies.

For more information on WisDOT's superelevation macro and why it is needed, see Civil 3D New User Training, alignments module.

So how do you set up your WisDOT subassemblies' superelevation controls in this system? For detailed information on subassembly behavior, review the subassembly help files. To help you get started, here's a look at several different roadway typical section types:

Case 1: Single lane ramp, crown at lane edge, planar subgrade (shoulder slopes down at crown but subgrade continues upward)

Case 2: Undivided Roadway with crown (Left side same settings as right)

Case 3: Divided Roadway with median, baseline at median edge or center of median, crown between lanes (only showing one of the divided roadways, the other is a mirror image)

What do you prefer that we do? Use WisDOT lane/shoulder subassemblies, or stock? Should I change my assemblies to use the stock subassemblies?

Some possible scenarios:

I'm starting a new corridor

My corridor is built, but there's time to change it

I have a PS&E in 4 months

The choice is yours. We developed the WisDOT subassemblies to use point, link, and shape codes that are compatible with the stock subassemblies' codes, allowing use of WisDOT and Autodesk subassemblies side-by-side resulting in consistent surface and corridor output. And, with the new superelevation functionality in C3D2012 the Autodesk lanes and shoulders subassembly offerings have the needed controls to develop superelevation as per our design standards. So you have some flexibility to choose which subassemblies work best for your design intentions.

There are limitations to this flexibility however. Each alignment has a single set of superelevation properties, and these superelevation properties may need to be different for WisDOT subassemblies vs. Autodesk subassemblies because of the differences in subassembly logic. The WisDOT subassemblies can't correctly read the Axis of Rotation information created by some input combinations in the Superelevation Wizard, so you shouldn't use both Autodesk and WisDOT lanes/shoulders on the same corridor baseline alignment. For each baseline alignment, use all WisDOT subassemblies on superelevated parts of your assemblies, or use all Autodesk subassemblies on superelevated parts of your assemblies. Don't mix up lanes and shoulders subassemblies, or other superelevated subassemblies, on the same baseline alignment. You can use non-superelevated WisDOT subassemblies in combination with Autodesk lanes and shoulders.

Keep in mind there is other functionality in some of the WisDOT lanes and shoulders that isn't currently in the stock subassemblies. So you have to choose what's right for your situation.

Are you telling us to never use "Use Inside Lane SE"? What about an urban roadway with parking lanes where the parking lane slope varies to match adjacent properties? Wouldn't we need to use inside and outside lane superelevation there?

You can still use Inside Lane superelevation definition for situations that need it. WisDOT subassemblies will correctly read the Inside Lane SE data. To include the Inside Lane Superelevation containers in an alignment's superelevation properties, use a number value of 2 in the Number of lanes field in the Lanes dialog box of the Superelevation Wizard, other settings are as shown above.

You probably will not get design-ready results from the Superelevation Wizard in this scenario; you may have to do some manual editing of the lane slope values and transition locations in the tabular editor.

Another way to do mass changes is to the tabular editor superelevation data is to export to a csv file, edit the csv file in Microsoft Excel, and import the edited csv back into the alignment's tabular editor superelevation data. A csv file is a comma-separated value file that can be opened in Excel and edited with common spreadsheet copy-paste functions.