Connecticut State Department of Transportation

CTDOT CONNECT DDE GUIDE VOLUME 16 - APPENDIX


Section 4 - Design Submissions


Consultant and State Employees responsible for working on Capital Projects are required to follow Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) submission and delivery guidelines. These requirements are documented in the Digital Project Development Manual. This manual covers the preparation, review, and delivery of capital project documents across the whole project timeline from project initiation to project completion. 

CAD submissions include the following:

PROJECT POLYGONS
PDF PACKAGES
ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING DATA (EED)

 

PROJECT POLYGONS

Additional Information can be found in Section 13 Project Location (Geo-Spatial Boundary or Route ID and Mileage) Digital Project Development Manual

 

A Project Polygon (geo-spatial boundary) shall be submitted to COMPASS at project milestones of DA (Design Approval) and DCD (Design Completion Date) by the lead designer.  The Project Polygons will be used in the Department’s Project Web-GIS feature layer to identify spatial location, each section of State and Local Roads contained within the boundary for FHWA FMIS reporting, and future CIM (Civil Integrated Management) of roadway assets. The Project Polygon will also aid in the ROW (Right of Way) Web-GIS mapping process. The Project Polygons are created in a CAD file and converted to a KML.

 

Creating a Project Polygon

The following steps explain how to create and submit the Project Polygon file(s). If the project consists of multiple “sites,” a separate file shall be created for each polygon. The datum and units will be NAD 83 in Survey Feet.

Before attempting to open or create DGN files users should make sure the following is in place:

1. Log on to the CONNECTION Client. Bentley CONNECT licensing requires users to log into their Bentley account to secure a software license.  CTDOT users should log in using your CTDOT email address and Bentley password.  If you do not see the dialog box select the ˄ icon on the bottom Windows Screen.  Click on the Connection Client Icon and select Open.

2. Access one of the CAD products (OpenRoads, OpenBridge, or OpenBuildings) through Accounting or the Customized Icon following Volume 1 - M.6.1 Accessing the Application.

3. Using the small drop-down arrows select the Workspace CT...Workspace and the correct WorkSet.

4. Create a file using the following Seed File:

…State of Connecticut\DOT CTDOT_DDE - CONNECT\CT_Configuration\Organization\Seed\GCS\NAD83FT_NAVD88.dgn

5. The new file will now be created and opened for editing.  On the View window select the View Attributes dialog box.  In the Background Map portion of the dialog box select the Background Map Type Hybrid.

Background Map Type

6. Reference the Survey and Highway Design files into the newly created file, If the file does not match up to the Background map the project is probably and old V8i file or NAD 27 FT.  If there are no Survey or Design Files available skip this step.

  • For old V8i files - In the References dialog box select the un-aligned reference file, turn True Scale off and set the Scale to 1:1.  
  • For NAD 27 files –In the References dialog box select the un-aligned reference file. In the Offset X key in 400124.900 and Offset Y key in 500038.900.

Reference File Settings

7. Set the active level to TOOL_Prelim_Proj_Polygon for the Project Polygon. Then create a closed polygon around the Project Limits using Place Shape or Create Complex Shape. Select the polygon and turn on the fill to verify the polygon is a closed shape.

  • DA (Design Approval): The Project Polygon shall include the entire project extents per site and include all existing and proposed ROW boundaries and portions of local affected roads. The polygon shall be drawn up to and following the ROW lines, then it shall cross the roads at the project limits. Note: The Polygon does not include slope limits. For projects with no survey use the Arial Image as a rough guide.
  • DCD (Design Completion Date): The Project Polygon shall include the entire project extents per site and include all ROW boundaries and portions of local affected roads. The polygon shall be drawn up to and following the right of way lines. When Rights and/or Defined Easements extend beyond the ROW, these lines shall be followed. The polygon shall cross the roads at the project limits.  For projects with no survey use the Arial Image as a rough guide

8. After the polygon has been placed, turn off all reference displays and fit the polygon to the view. 

9. In the tool search type in Export Google Earth File. In the Create Google Earth (KML) File dialog box set the following:

  • Save as type: KML
  • Browse tothe Share folder (PROJ-NUMB - Design\Share)
  • Name the file Project Polygon.kml
  • Click the Save button

Google Earth should then automatically open and zoom to the Project Polygon vicinity, this will verify that the polygon is spatially correct.  Note: If a project has multiple sites, a project polygon file shall be created for each site and the file names should be numbered (Project Polygon 01.kml, Project Polygon 02.kml). 

10. After the KML file(s) are saved to the Share Folder email Mathew.Calkins@ct.gov.

 

PDF PACKAGES

Additional Information can be found in Section 4 Document Preparation and Format Digital Project Development Manual

Contract plans shall be grouped, by discipline into individual multiple page PDF files called discipline subsets.  The project manager is tasked with determining the discipline subset numbering and grouping and whether to use a single volume or multiple volumes for the project.  

 

ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING DATA (EED)

Additional Information can be found in Section 12  Electronic Engineering Data (EED) Digital Project Development Manual

EED is produced during the survey and design phase of a project and usually consists of various types of electronic design information that can be displayed graphically in a computer aided design file (CAD). Examples of EED include but are not limited to: 3D terrain DGN models, Horizontal and vertical Coordinate Geometry DGN files and Proposed 3D Design DGN Models.

CTDOT sees the advantage and the need to move into a 3D model-centric environment.  This will allow CTDOT to increase productivity, reduce design errors, and adhere to industry trends of AMG (Automated Machine Guidance), eConstruction and Asset Management.  As the transportation industry worldwide adapts to new technology, Transportation Agencies must ascertain their readiness to adapt to these industry trends.  FHWA has elevated 3D modeling through its Every Day Counts initiative and has encouraged Transportation Agencies to adopt policy for delivering a digital product in lieu of a set of plans (paper, mylar or PDF). When a project is designed using current civil design software, it is created within a 3D model.  Contractors across the world are utilizing 3D models for Automated Machine Guidance to perform activities such as grading, paving and drainage installation. In between these steps, projects are often flattened to convey design intent in a 2D medium such as a PDF or paper plan set.  During this conversion, data is lost, precision is reduced and design intent is nullified.  Looking forward, CONNECT Edition products will allow designers to produce a product that retains the civil data and design intent through construction.  This data, also known as Electronic Engineering Data (EED), can be consumed further downstream in Asset Management and Maintenance.  However, for now, CTDOT recognizes that the contract document shall remain a PDF set of plans. 

What are the benefits of creating a 3D engineered model from designers perspective?

  • To be able to see the whole model as one (communicates design intent)
  • To ensure all parts tie together (clash detection)
  • Valuable tool to represent data to others.
  • Validates constructability of staging/final product.
  • Better understanding of staging plans.