In addition to explaining Widening, these other topics are also covered in this documentation:

• Curve Widening Automatic Method
• Draw Transition

Most of the widening is done by placing graphical elements in a MicroStation "plan view" design file.   Usually this is the MicroStation file that also contains your horizontal alignment.

These "widening" elements are drawn at exact offsets and using exact station ranges and must be drawn using Design and Computation Manager with Place Influence activated.

The user simply selects from one of many types of widening available through the D&C Manager category Define_dgn > Proposed. The example below illustrates selecting the item for drawing a widening line that matches the adjacent superelevation shape:

The WFL Project Manager Typical Sections are in sync with the element symbologies setup in the D&C Manager. Once again, the user must use the optional Place Influence toggle in order for the criteria to recognize the widening elements.

available widening selections are as follows:

Pavement Widening: (Paved shoulder)

• Prop. Pavement Widening ... Adhoc attributes are now available and associated with this D&C item. The adhoc value instructs the criteria what value to use when drawing pavement widening. When this item is selected and the elements are drawn, the cross slope of the widening remains at that slope regardless of the cross slope of the superelevation shape. A rollover option is available from the Typical Sections that prevent the algebraic difference in cross slope from exceeding 8%.



• Prop. Edge of Widened Shape... When this item is selected and the elements are drawn, the cross slope of the widening matches that of the superelevation shape at that pattern line.



• Prop. Edge of Widened Existing Super... This item is reserved for use with the 3R Typical Section. When this item is selected and the elements are drawn, the cross slope of the widening matches that of the existing superelevation at that pattern line.

Shoulder Widening (Gravel shoulder):

• Prop. Shoulder1 Widening...Adhoc attributes are now available and associated with this D&C item. The adhoc value instructs the criteria what value to use when drawing gravel shoulder widening. When this item is selected and the elements are drawn, the cross slope of the widening remains at that slope regardless of the cross slope of the superelevation shape. A rollover option is available from the Typical Sections that prevent the algebraic difference in cross slope from exceeding 8%.
  
  
• Prop. Shoulder2 Widening...When this item is selected and the elements are drawn, the cross slope of the widening matches that of the superelevation shape at that pattern line.
  

Curve widening can be accomplished easily and in accordance with AASHTO 2004 by just a couple of clicks. Below is the procedure:

• You must have a valid autoshape input file. The input file is used to determine the curve radii and transition stations where the widening is to be drawn.



• Open the MicroStation design file (plan file) that your Project Manager "run" will be looking for concerning widening elements.



• Invoke Design and Computation Manager, and double click on the "item" Curve Widening (with transitions) from the MVBA Applications category, as shown below:

The Draw Curve Widening dialog will appear, as shown below:

Using the browse icon, (the little magnifying glass), select the autoshape input file, and click on Open, as shown below:

The shape input file and it's path will populate the upper dialog field as shown below. Notice that the Job Number, Chain name, Roadway Width, Design Speed and Superelevation eMax values are all populated for you. This is just an informational feature to show you what is being loaded into the application.

The next option on the dialog is how to apply the curve widening. You have 2 options:

• Only Along the Inside Edge of Travel Way
• Divide Equally between Inside and Outside Edges

AASHTO 2004 states "On simple (unspiraled) curves, widening should be applied on the inside edge of the traveled way only. On curves designed with spirals, widening may be applied on the inside edge or divided equally on either side of centerline". Ref: 1st bullet, page 214.

AASHTO 2004 further states, "Preferably, widening should transition over the superelevation runoff length, but shorter lengths are sometimes used". Ref: 2nd bullet, page 214.

If the second option is selected, Divide Equally between Inside and Outside Edges, the application is intelligent enough to know not to divide simple curves without spirals. If the application finds a curve without spirals, even though you may have the option set to divide the widening, these simple curves will only have the widening drawn on the inside edge.... Very cool!

The next option is Disregard Widening < 0.6m (in the case of a US Customary design, you would see < 2.0 ft. here).

AASHTO 2004 states, "It is suggested that a minimum widening of 0.6 m [2.0 ft] be used and that lower values (less than 0.6m [2.0 ft]) may be disregarded. Ref. last paragraph, page 210.

NOTE: You should always toggle this option ON as shown below:

The next option is Additional Widening. If additional widening is desired beyond the calculated curve widening, toggle this option ON and type in the additional widening value.

You have the option to temporarily display the graphics. If this is desired, toggle on Display Only. Remember, if you use this option and then zoom in or update the view, the graphics will not be visible.

The next option is to Generate Report. This option, when enabled, creates a .csv file containing the station ranges curve widening values and transition in/out distances.

This report can be opened using Excel. The text parameters and border symbologies can be formatted in Excel and pasted into MicroStation using Axiom Office Importer. If Axiom Office Importer is not installed on your computer, please contact the Help Desk.

Samples of both the raw and formatted curve widening report are illustrated later in this documentation. To jump immediately to these illustrations, click here.

NOTE: This report is now a requirement in all plan sets.

The final option is Vehicle Type. Use the "drop down arrow" to select from several Vehicle Types.

Before clicking on Draw Curve Widening.... you must select the D&C Manager item and toggle ON Place Influence, in order to set the symbology of the widening element. The example below illustrates using the item that will extend the pavement using the same cross slope as the superelevation shape:

You are now ready to click on Draw Curve Widening as shown below:

You should now have all the appropriate curve widening drawn into your MicroStation design file and at the correct symbologies. Text will also be drawn at each curve location illustrating the amount of widening drawn and whether the curve is less than the minimum radius.

Generate Report option:

When Generate Report is enabled and Draw Curve Widening is pressed, the Save Report As dialog appears as shown below:

An example of what the initial raw report might look like is shown below:

An example of how the formatted report might look like is shown below:

The final step is open the MicroStation design file where this report (or table) is to be placed, invoke Axiom Office Importer, copy the cell range from Excel and paste it into MicroStation.

NOTE: For the exact element symbologies and parameters, such as fonts, text heights/widths, weights, etc... please see the WFLHD PDDM.

An easy way to draw these widening elements is to use the Draw Transition tool.

Invoke the GEOPAK Draw Transition tool:

APPLICATIONS > GEOPAK ROAD > PLANS PREPARATION > DRAW TRANSITION

...or use the Tools icon below:

The Draw Transition tool is shown below. Simply fill out the dialog and press Draw:

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