Abstract:
Increasing costs and environmental concerns require route planners to investigate more thoroughly the consequences of their road location decisions. A useful method for doing this is topometrics, the process of producing x, y, and z coordinates rapidly and accurately from topographic maps. Desk-top computers with digitizers, plotters, printers, and specially designed analytic routines offer a low-cost, readily available route evaluation system. A projected route can be evaluated from the standpoint of horizontal and vertical alignment, earthwork, and mass diagram computations at the rate of up to 1,000 ft (305 m) of road per minute, depending on the map scale. Plotted and printed results are produced at each step. This interactive design system allows the designer to see the results of his decisions immediately, make desired changes, and carry out many more design cycles than are possible with manual methods or even some methods using large-scale computer systems. Cost, safety, and aesthetic factors can be more easily evaluated because of the quantitative nature of the results.
Supplemental Notes:
Proceedings of a work shop held June 16-19, 1975, in Boise, Idaho by the Transportation Research Board.
