Stream grading projects have witnessed a remarkable transformation thanks to the power of AutoCAD civil tools. Environmental engineer Bailey Wilfong, PE, and her team have pushed these tools even further to help optimize the stream grading design process here at RES. By adopting a fresh perspective and implementing advanced features, the team’s innovative approach has paved the way for more efficient and precise stream design.
A paradigm shift: Viewing streams as inverted roads
To enhance efficiency, the team reimagined streams as inverted roads. Rather than the conventional road design with the center higher than the sides, streams exhibit a reverse topography. This allowed them to tap into AutoCAD's road design tools and grading features, enabling what’s normally a tedious manual process—tying the gradients from streambeds or banks up to floodplains or valleys—to be automated, allowing grading to flow through long stretches of streams and tributaries much faster.
The team successfully streamlined the design process by applying roadway terminology to stream and floodplain interactions. Visualizing floodplain benches and the floodway as basic lanes, akin to their road counterparts, facilitated the seamless transition from widening to narrowing sections. This approach, reminiscent of the lane expansion on a highway, introduced a new level of precision in stream grading.
Streamlined design with if-then analysis
The team developed an extensive if-then statement within the AutoCAD tool to expedite the grading process. This powerful feature allowed them to define specific grading rules based on the project requirements. Whether it involved filling or cutting, the software seamlessly analyzed adjacent topography and adjusted the cut or fill at various widths and heights. This intelligent if-then analysis facilitated the integration of the stream grade into the proposed topography with unparalleled ease and accuracy.
By incorporating this if-then analysis directly into the tool, Bailey and her team achieved substantial time savings in floodplain grading. They efficiently graded the floodplain for several thousand linear feet of stream, significantly reducing the overall project duration compared to traditional methods.
Accelerating project timelines with rapid floodplain grading
The strategic use of roadway terminology and powerful if-then analysis has unlocked new levels of efficiency and accuracy in stream design with AutoCAD civil tools. At RES, we’re proud to support our teams in tackling problems in new ways, even when a fresh perspective turns the process upside down. These projects are used across RES and have helped compress the design-build timelines on large projects with more than 10 miles of restoration to complete.
Finding more efficient approaches and accelerating project timelines benefits our clients and, ultimately, the plants, animals, and other living things that depend on the places we restore.
Key Takeaways:
- Stream design can be streamlined by creatively re-purposing CAD technology meant for road designs
- RES engineers have helped fine-tune these techniques to bypass the “design logjam” at the front-end of large-scale restoration projects
