Roads & Highways - Extending middle section of multipart route

[JosephMonti]

So I am trying to extend the middle section of a multipart route (there are three sections in total), but am having difficulty because the centerlines that these three route sections are on, are actually a single record (in our centerline feature class) with a single GUID.  It is my belief that even though the route can be a multipart feature, that the centerlines should be unique records (with unique GUIDs), so I have attempted to explode this multipart centerline.  When I attempt to do this, I receive a message saying that "None of the centerlines were deleted as the centerlines below are associated with routes".  In the accompanying dialog box I see both the route and centerline in question are listed.  Even with this warning, I am still able to click "okay" and the system maintains the original multipart centerline, but also creates a new centerline, but just for one of the three sections, which has the same exact GUID as the multipart centerline.  It is my belief that each centerline should have a unique GUID, so this seems like a red flag to me.

I want to also mention that, previous to my attempt to explode the multipart centerline, I tried both extending and realigning the middle section of the multipart route, but without success.  To be specific, I can not choose any section of the multipart centerline, and get the following message: "this centerline has a non-linear segment and cannot be chosen until it is densified."

I want to make clear that this route (and centerline) were migrated over to the R&H environment from our previous GIS system.  On that note we are in ArcMap 10.4.1

Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated.

[CliveReece · Accepted solution]

Hello Joseph,

For extending the middle portion of a gapped route, you want to run the "Realign Route" tool rather than "Extend Route". 

Try this:

• In ArcMap with Roads and Highways extension enabled, start an edit session
• Create a new feature in the Centerline feature class for the new pavement that represents your extension
• On the Roads and Highways toolbar (always working left to right 😉
  • Select your Route Network (drop-down)
  • Click on the Choose Centerlines button and click on the centerline feature that is the extension
  • Click on the "Realign Route" tool 
  • Fill in the "Realign Route" dialog (note the split measures across the gap may be the same)
  • Click OK 
• Confirm calibration is how you expect using the Identify Route Locations tool

Before you go too far with the steps above, I am concerned about the "non-linear segment" warning .  You do not want geometric arcs (non-linear parts) in the Centerline features.  You definitely want to clean those up, linearizing them using densification.   I would recommend a complete check on the entire Centerline feature class and correct any non-linear features before anything else.  Use Data Reviewer to check for them (you get a license for that with Roads and Highways desktop).  And while you are at it, check for invalid geometry, cutbacks, and segment lengths less than the M-tolerance. 

Good luck and please keep us posted. 

Sincerely,

Clive

Esri LRS Consulting team

[RyanKoschatzky]

Joseph, 

Been there, done that. Not fun fixing arcs. Our migrated was cleaned but when fixing and reloading routes we had used curves to redraw the route. 

I would caution on using non R&H tools on R&H routes. For example if you use the split tool vs the R&H centerline split tool, it will not update R&H. If you don't have any routes associated with the centerline you can use the split tool. This is been our experience in 10.5.1 

[JosephMonti]

As for R&H vs non-R&H tools, yes, we always use them when editing our LRS. I only
deviated in this circumstance as a trouble shooting measure since nothing seemed to be
working.

[JosephMonti]

So I'm not sure what happened, but when I originally attempted to use the realign tool
(and selected the newly digitized centerline), the Split Measure Value boxes were greyed
out and could not be populated. Consequently, I could not click the Ok button either.
However, after waiting a day and re-opening ArcMap, the process you outlined worked as
expected.

Unfortunately, I do not have an explanation as to what was different from my earlier
(unsuccessful) attempt and the most recent one that worked, nevertheless, thank you for
confirming that that realignment tool is the appropriate course of action.

So on the topics of linearizing or densification, I spoke to a colleague who has been here longer than me, and she indicated that when our data was first migrated, this issue was more common. Immediately following migration, these centerlines were corrected on an individual basis. However, as time passed, the issue became less and less common, so much that most of the current staff has never encountered the issue or the error message. I'm not sure that it is a major issue for our LRS, but thank you for the information on how to correct it.

[RyanKoschatzky]

Glad it worked out for you. I would have preferred to have arcs in the data as that is how roads are created and we had arcs in our previous system using esri products. I had hoped R&H being for the transportation industry would have gone to the next level to help with ramps and multimodel (ie rail) and included tools for spiral curves but alas those dreams where crushed.