The Section Lines tool is a road modeling tool inspired by traditional road surveying techniques. This tool digitizes polylines along a centerline with one click. The Section Lines are best used for topographic road surveying and can be used to generate a lightweight CAD model of the road. 


The Section Lines tool only works on the selected polyline or centerline and appears in the TOOLS for Polyline tab.  




Overview


Quick Usage Guide

  1. Select the polyline/centerline.
  2. Go to the TOOLS tab. 
  3. Set the appropriate Along and Across values in the boxes available in the Create group.
  4. Click on the Section Lines button (found in the same group).
  5. Section lines are drawn along the centerline and grouped in a new layer in the Project View


Section Lines Settings and Options

Set the appropriate Along and Across values before launching the section lines creation process.


The Along value represents the spacing between two successive section lines along the centerline. Determine this value on the basis of your survey requirements and the road topography. In addition to section lines determined by the Along value, other section lines are also drawn at the vertices of the center line. 


The Across value represents the length of the created section lines. In other words, it is the width of your survey. To easily determine this value, measure the span of the road—using the measurement tools in the ANALYSIS tab—from the farthest road feature to the opposite side (e.g., edge of gravel to edge of gravel).



Show Section Line Information

You can Style your section lines to show their names and numbers in the Viewport, as well as change the label size and color, along with the line thickness and color.



Where to Use the Section Lines Tool 

  • The Section lines tool is a part of the Virtual Surveyor toolbox for road surveying. 




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