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TrainingRoads
DifficultyadvancedAdded2027.0Statusdraft

Advanced Profile Views (KZN DOT)

The example below describes how to use the KZN DOT (KwaZulu Natal Department of Transport) profile view. This profile view can be used on other client projects and is not only applicable to KZN DOT.

This profile view is advanced because of its dynamic features, which are listed below:

  • Road edge offsets from the centreline
  • Drainage details (type, chainage, length)
  • Barrier lines (a corridor must be created for the barrier lines)
  • Guardrails (chainage, length)
  • Direction arrows (driven by profile names)
  • Legend (block used in the profile view band style)

Note: The workflow below describes how to use advanced profile views, if you rather want to watch a video go to the next chapter: Advanced Dual Carriageway Profile Views and click on the link for the video. The approach for dual carriageway profile views is similar than the KZN DOT profile views, therefore some parts are applicable to both.

The KZN DOT profile view consists of a profile view style, a profile view band set and a profile label set. The profile view style name is: Single Road | Band Set 6 | KZN DOT:

The profile view band set name is: Single Road | Band Set 6 | KZN DOT | m:

The profile label set is used for profile labels and for some band labels to ensure that every band label in the profile view can be moved independently. The profile label set name is: Single Road | Band Set 6 | KZN DOT | m:

  1. To add a profile label set to a profile, select a vertical alignment, right-click and use the Edit Labels command from the menu:

  2. Click on Import Label Set in the right-bottom corner and choose Single Road | Band Set 6 | KZN DOT | m::

Imported labels:

Guardrail, Road Marking and Drainage Band​

This band displays guardrails, road markings and drainage details such as the chainage, description and length:

It uses simplified profiles created by the Devotech iDAS Profile Feature Lines command to display the required information dynamically linked to the corridor. The assembly must contain different codes for specific drainage types as well as for guardrails. Profiles for barrier lines can be created from the Visibility sight check analysis (this is another workflow which is not part of this section).

The image below shows an example of an assembly with various conditions for concrete, earth and kerb channel and for guardrails:

The created corridor in plan with the automatic feature line styles:

Corridor codes can be linked to profiles with the Devotech iDAS Profile Feature Lines command, as mentioned before:

Created profiles (note that only the ETW profiles are using a full profile type, and not a simplified profile):

Profiles set in the profile view:

Earthwork Quantities Band​

This band displays cut, adjusted cut and fill volumes for each section between two cross-sections:

To display the information in the band, sample lines must be created and the cut and fill quantities must be calculated. For the Adjusted Cut use the Refill Factor in the Material Volume dialog in the Sample Line Group Properties window:

You also have to define which sample line group and which material volumes must be used for this band in the Profile View Properties window, Bands tab, Data Source and Material columns:

Final Road Levels Band​

This band displays the final road levels and an offset from the centreline for the left and right edges:

The road width is mostly driven by the offset alignment, it is the most powerful way of managing the road width. This band also uses offset alignments to display the offset distance from the centreline. Select a question mark in the profile view band, go to the AutoCAD Properties window and specify the offset alignment for the left and right side:

Important: The offset is measured perpendicularly to the offset alignment, not to the centreline which causes discrepancies at the sections where these alignments are not parallel (widening regions):

The only way to fix this problem is to manually add the correct values (values can be taken from the cross-sections). There are two options to write these values manually:

        1. Use multi-line text (Mtext) with a text mask to hide the incorrect value:

  1. Use the following settings:

  2. Move the text with the mask to the correct location:

  3. It is practical to add the text Overridden to each manual value in order to remember which values are overridden. Add the text on the C3D-No Plot objects layer:

Another option would be to display the text mask frames, if a frame is dispalyed the values are overridden, however this might not be clear to other users who might work on the drawing.

  1. Use the label override. Press CTRL on the keyboard, select a label, right-click and select the Edit Label Text command:

  2. Delete the label component and type in the new value:

  3. It is practical to add the text Overridden to each manual value in order to remember which values are overridden. Add the text on the C3D-No Plot objects layer:

  4. To remove the overrides, press CTRL on the keyboard, right-click and use the Clear Label Text Override command:

  5. To remove the overrides for all labels, select the labels, right-click and use the Edit Labels command:

  6. Change the style for the left or righ offset to Standard (the example below shows the style for the left offset):

  7. Change it back to the correct style. This will reset all the labels and you will have to assign the offset alignment again:

Horizontal Alignment Band​

Autodesk Civil 3D can display horizontal alignment schematic lines but the offset form the middle line varies according to the curve radius. Unfortunately, there is no way to use a constant offset from the middle line so the band looks like the image below:

Civil 3D does not have the option to display the curve side therefore it is not displayed in the band. Only the following labels are shown for curves:

Direction arrows​

Direction arrows in the profile view uses profile names:

Create two dummy profiles with the names matching the required direction. Use these profiles in the profile view bands (you have to switch the Location to Top of profile view):

Legend​

  1. Per default the legend layer is off. Go to the Layer Properties Manager and switch the layer C3D-Profile View-Legend-Road on:

The legend displayed in the profile view:

  1. The legend is defined as a block, to modify the legend insert the Profile View-Legend-Road-KZN DOT block into the drawing and modify it:

  2. After completing the modifications, measure the block height and use this value in the legend's band, otherwise the block height might be incorrect in the profile view. The workflow as follows: Go to the Profile View Properies, Top of profile view location and click on the icon next to the KZN DOT | Legend | Profile1 NA | Profile2 NA band**:**

  3. Use the Edit Current Selection command from the drop down menu:

  4. Go to Band Details tab, Compose Label command:

  5. Go to the Layout tab, for the Component Name select Legend and change the Block Height:

Profile View Frame on the Left Side​

The KZN DOT profile view has a frame on the left-hand side:

This frame works in most scenarios, but if the profile view height is very high or very low, the vertical line might be too short or too long respectively:

  1. Go to Profile View Properies, for the Location choose Top of profile view and click on the icon next to the KZN DOT | Profile View Frame | Profile1 NA | Profile2 NA band**:**

  2. Select the Edit Current Selection command from the drop down menu:

  3. Go to the Band Details tab, Compose Label command:

  4. Go to the Layout tab, for the Component Name select Vertical Line and change the Fixed Length: