Why You Should Want To Learn It
Allow me to start with some thoughts. Suppose you come across an artist who makes sculptures for a living. Let’s call him a sculptor. Now, say you saw him scratching his head staring at his hammer and chisel. If you could read his mind, you would find him thinking that he has no idea how to use his tools. Would you call him a good sculptor?
I will take this thought and continue it with a roadway engineer. Suppose you come across a roadway engineer who has no idea how to use the main tool that produces her construction plans. What would you call her?
Here’s another thought: our industry is full of folks with loads of experience. Take a look at their websites and LinkedIn pages. Their experience oozes out of them. It seeps out of your screen and onto your lap with a big plop. Their aged experience looks and smells like aged milk.
Imagery aside, I’m not saying that all their experience aged poorly. Not at all. I will, however, stick my finger in it and point out their willful ignorance of the tools that earn them their bi-weekly bread.
Learning these tools takes time and concentration. Knowing how to use each of your tools is itself a very valuable skill. With this skill, our then-clueless sculptor gains freedom to craft what he wants and how he wants it. The same can be said for the roadway engineer. I can say much more on why you should want to learn OpenRoads Designer, but I’ll move to my next point.
A Short List of Steps
- Get the two-star Bentley Accreditation
- Use the FHWA OpenRoads Designer manual with all your projects in addition to your DOT guidelines and standards
- Abandon the conventional method of modeling and embrace the 3D Linear Method
A Short Explanation of the Short List of Steps
The first step is to earn the two star accreditation for road design by Bentley. The courses and tests are very fundamental and could even be considered barebones. I would commend this for those who have no others to learn from. It is often a case where the current production fellows haven’t any folks above them to guide them. If you feel this way, I’d consider taking this. It’s free and can be done in two weekends. I’ll add that it also looks good on a resume.
The second step is to use the FHWA’s published manual. It’s been a great aid to all my projects. On top of having workflow guides it has best practices, warnings, and workarounds. I’d advise you to use it along any state standard you are required to follow.
The third step involves throwing out all the Bentley bathwater and adopting a new method of corridor modeling. More on that in a later post. Trust me. It’s a game changer.
A Ship’s Christening
Learning OpenRoads Designer takes more time than you think. Discouraging? Take heart. The payoff is much more rewarding than you think. I think I’ll write a post just about it’s benefits another time. For now, read as much as you can about OpenRoads Designer. Don’t be the clueless sculptor. Don’t be the unread engineer. Read your state’s manual. Read the FHWA manual. Read whatever you can find online. The reading is worth it as it will make you sharper. I hope this ends with an encouraging send off, filled with good hopes like a ship’s christening ceremony.
