Imperfect Intersections

We'll repeat the process for the last intersection with Alley 3 and Alley 4. Notice that because of
the transitioning geometry at the northwest curb return, the pavement edge is setback beyond the
10' lane width value we have been using. This is not a problem because instead of configuring a
lane width of 10' for the primary road left offset parameters, we'll tie it to Road A's left offset
alignment created to generate the curb/gutter baselines. We will perform this for the Alley 3
intersection. Alley 4 will be configured like the others.

So as we run through the intersection routine for Alley 3, we'll make this change to our process
for offset parameters:

Four-way Intersections with Three Alignments

We're defining each alley using the intersection tool. Before using the intersection tool, an
assembly set needs to be created. I determined that the following set of assemblies would serve
my purpose for Alley 1 and probably the remaining intersections as well. My reasons should
become clear as we work through this example.

Before defining an intersection, we need the following information:

Left lane width of primary (main) road

Right lane width of primary road
Left lane width of secondary road
Right lane width of secondary road
Radii at each intersection quadrant (in this case at edge of pavement)
Left lane cross slope of primary road
Right lane cross slope of primary road
Left lane cross slope of secondary road
Right lane cross slope of secondary road

These values will be entered into the intersection wizard but can also be configured as defaults in
the Create Intersection command settings. For this example, we'll step through the wizard.
On the first page of the intersection wizard, the intersection corridor type should be set to
Primary Road Crown Maintained. Even though the primary road, Road A, has no crown, we do
want the secondary road to tie into the edge of pavement of Road A.

On the second page of the wizard is where the values listed out above are entered. Hitting the
appropriate buttons will allow us to configure those values.
Offset Parameters (Lane Widths):

Curb Return Parameters (Radii at EP):

Lane Slope Parameters (Lane Cross Slopes):

On the third and final page of the wizard, we're creating a new corridor and configuring our three
assemblies into the assembly set. Since the primary road is already modeled, we're using the null
assembly there. Since the intersection is very close to being perpendicular, we will not have any
half sections for the secondary road. Since we will be reusing this configuration, we can save the
set out for later use. The intersection can now be created.

To finish off Alley 1, we'll grab the diamond shape grip at the end of the intersection and drag it
to the end of the alignment.

Next we'll go to the corridor properties of Alley 1, create its surface, apply its boundary, and then
paste it into the FG-Roads surface for the overall roadway.
The next intersection appears to be a 4-way intersection but the alleys here, Alley 2 and Alley 5,
are represented by their own alignments.

Civil 3D cannot do 4-way intersections with 3 alignments. If you try, it fails to produce the curb
return profiles correctly. So to work around this, we have to treat this as two 3-way intersections.
To make the program think this is a 3-way intersection, we'll temporarily move the start point for
the Alley 2 alignment away from the intersection point. This will temporarily change the existing
profile. The proposed profile will stay intact.

We then run the intersection tool on the 3-way alignment by repeating the entire process for
Alley 1.
We return the start point of the Alley 2 alignment to the intersection point; move the start point
of the Alley 5 alignment, then run the intersection process on Alley 2. Then we return the start
point of the Alley 5 alignment back to the intersection point.

Multiple Corridors for One Surface

In this example, you could create the entire roadway network in one corridor. Since there are so
many baselines in the Road A corridor, the rebuild isn't instant. Creating each alley in isolated
corridors will allow us to save time on rebuilds. Plus since the entire pavement area was done in
one baseline, the triangle cleanup at the alley intersections will be better if we pasted the
roadways together in one overall FG surface.

Create the Road A surface in corridor properties using the top links. Add the corridor extents as
the outer boundary.

Create an overall roadway surface that will contain the roadway network.

Paste the surface for Road A into the overall roadway surface.

Modeling Curb & Gutter in Parking Areas

To add the curb and gutter from Road A, we create baselines along each section of curb and
configure assemblies containing the curb subassembly only. Since one side of the road is
catching, the other side is spilling, and header curbs are being used in various locations, the
following assemblies were created using the UrbanCurbGutterGeneral subassembly:

To create alignments along the edges of the corridor, we extract alignments and profiles from the
left and right edges of pavement from the corridor feature lines. To do this successfully, go to the
Codes tab of the corridor properties of Road A. Change the code set to turn off feature lines that
are not associated with the top of your corridor if your default code set does not. This will ensure
that we are selecting the correct feature line for this task.
Extract:

Be sure you chose the corridor, not the underlying extracted feature line from the previous
exercise or the command will not work:

Name the alignments and profiles accordingly. There will be one alignment representing the left
and another representing the right.
Add baselines for each section of curb/gutter:

Continue to add baselines creating sections of curb/gutter:

Corridor Targets
In this example, we need to maintain the planar 3% cross slope but extend the pavement into the
parking areas while respecting the curb returns. With the Feature Line from Objects command,
the edge of pavement for the corridor can be extracted from the preliminary drawing and joined

at the intersection. There will be on feature line for the left of side Road A and another for the
right side of Road A. These feature lines do not require elevation.

Open up the corridor properties for Road A. On the Parameters tab, click set all targets, and
configure both feature lines to their respected assembly sides as Width or Offset Targets:

Slope or Elevation Targets are not necessary since we are allowing the default cross slopes in the
assemblies have control:

Results:

Note: Select corridor and use Add a Section to tighten up small curve radii and 90 degree
corners.

Create Simple Corridor

In this example, we have a main road called Road A and five alleys called Alley 1, Alley 2,
Alley 3, Alley 4, and Alley 5. The centerline alignments and profiles have been created for these
roads. The edge of pavement meanders along Road A because of the parking areas.

Two assemblies have been created. The assembly for Road A is planar maintaining a 3% cross
slope draining from right to left. The assembly for Alley 1 5 is v shaped maintaining 2% cross

slopes on both sides. These typical sections will be maintained throughout the corridor. At the
intersections, the alleys will transition to the edges of Road A.

Create a simple corridor for Road A. Adjust the start and end stations to coincide with the
transition start points on the curb return. Set your frequency to 1 for tangents, curves, spirals and
profile curves.

Default frequency values can be configured on the Settings tab so that they do not have to be
configured with each corridor.

Currently, this corridor has one baseline with one region and no targets.

The Basics of Corridor & Assembly Planning

Corridors are 3-dimensional models based on:

Alignments
Profiles
Assemblies (typical cross sectional template)

Corridors are composed of

Baselines (alignments and their associated profile)

Regions (segments along an alignment where an assembly is assigned.

A corridor can contain more than one baseline. A baseline can contain more than one region.

Assemblies are composed of subassemblies i.e. pavement sections, curb/gutter sections, shoulder
sections, sidewalk sections, and daylighting instructions. Subassemblies are composed of
programming code that enables Civil 3D to do things like run quantities, change lane widths, and
gutter dimensions.
Corridors, like surfaces must rebuild when changes occur. This can be done manually or
automatically depending on your corridor settings and the size of your corridor; large, complex
corridors should be rebuilt manually.
Subassemblies cannot be stored up on the server since they are a product of a combination of
DVB, DLL, and XML files residing in your Civil 3D installation. However, they can be attached
to an assembly and write-blocked out to a central folder on the server. This can be a time saver
when working with typical sections that differ in dimensions from the Civil 3D stock
subassemblies.
When an assembly has been created, subassemblies are attached from the Tool Palettes. When an
assembly has been selected, the Properties palette opens displaying the advanced parameters
controlling the physical characteristics of the subassembly.

Help with the subassembly can be displayed by right-clicking on the subassembly in the Tool
Palette and selecting Help.

Townhouse Corridors
Townhouse corridors are complex. Parking stalls, odd transitions, and even intersections are
difficult to model with a typical section. With planning, perseverance, and a complete
understanding of corridors, near perfect contours can be created in a short amount of time.

This workflow will be divided into the following posts:

The Basics of Corridor & Assembly Planning

Create Simple Corridor
Corridor Targets
Modeling Curb & Gutter in Parking Areas
Multiple Corridors for One Surface
Four-way Intersections with Three Alignments
Imperfect Intersections