CU1703

SOFTWAREreview
OpenRoads Designer
Bentley's OpenRoads Designer provides a federated model that encompasses all disciplines in
roadway design from conception to completion, writes David Chadwick
You will hear the term 'scalable'
used a lot in describing Bentley
OpenRoads Designer, which is
currently being released as a complete
concept through a set of construction
applications for the design of roads
and associated infrastructure.
Scalable relates here both to the
number of different disciplines that
OpenRoads Designer can reference
and incorporate information from within
the design model, and also to the
unlimited size of the models it is able to
handle. Operating as a Bentley
CONNECT Edition, OpenRoads
Designer is a 3D modelling application
that helps to deliver roadway design
from conception through to
completion. It enables project
managers to develop a federated
model incorporating survey data,
terrain modelling, drainage, subsurface
utilities, the road itself and road
furniture. It is also able to consume
data in all formats, including reality
meshes, aerial imagery and point
clouds to place the road in context. It
includes 3D parametric modelling to
facilitate the creation of a design,
together with traditional engineering
workflows, to produce plans, profiles
and cross sections, plus other
deliverables.
With a federated modelling
environment, OpenRoads Designer
provides engineers and contractors
across all disciplines full access to
their data, maintaining full collaboration
through design and model updates,
and can incorporate references to
associated files in other applications.
All of this is managed under the aegis
of Bentley's ProjectWise.
Because it offers multi-discipline
support, OpenRoads Designer allows
users to switch discipline perspectives,
for instance from road alignment
designer to subsurface utility engineer.
This allows road designers access to
gINT databases and to connect directly
to geotechnical information and
borehole data, to aid and improve
design decisions.
By bringing in subsurface information
and generating subsurface terrains
based on borehole information, these
can be projected in road and drainage
profiles, sections and plans. Users can
then select utility and drainage
components from catalogues of
Composite image showing different stages of the development of the OpenRoads model
10
March/April 2017