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NewAutoCAD plugin · version 3.2

RoadPro: a complete road in AutoCAD from one command

Type RDP, draw the centre line, and RoadPro draws the edges, turning radius, barricades, signs, chainage, cross section and a report with an Excel file. Free, for AutoCAD, Civil 3D and Map 3D.

Watch the demo User guide (PDF)

RoadPro.lsp and install notes in a zip, 55 KB · Full AutoCAD 2013 or newer (not LT) · Free account needed

RoadPro in AutoCAD: a road with lane widening and curve tapers, a T-junction and a skewed junction with kerb returns, road markings, barricades and chainage

New in RoadPro 3.2

  • Signs and markings to standard

    Sign plate sizes and warning distances by speed limit, L1 / L2 / L2A centre lines, yellow L4 edge lines, stop and give-way lines, and delineator posts on curves.

  • Auxiliary lane and island

    RDJ can add a turning lane with a long approach taper, storage and a short taper, plus a kerbed or painted splitter island.

  • Cones, kerb and shoulder

    Edge with barricades, traffic cones or kerb stone, add a paved shoulder, and use barricades or cones as a median. Shown in plan and section.

  • Match the existing radius

    Turning radius can match the existing road or be typed in, and the road-works sign set uses black / yellow chevrons.

Standards: Sign sizes, warning distances and road markings follow the Oman Highway Design Standards 2017, Section 19 (GCC Manual based). For projects in Qatar, check them against the Qatar Traffic Control Manual (QTCM). Every value can be changed in the dialogs.

RoadPro 3.2 user guide, page 17: Auxiliary lane and island
Auxiliary lane and island: page 17 of the user guide. Tap to open it.
RoadPro 3.2 user guide, page 19: Standard values
Standard values: page 19 of the user guide. Tap to open it.

Demo

Watch RoadPro build a road

Three minutes in AutoCAD Civil 3D: the dialog, the centre line, the finished road, the report and the Excel file, the sign legend and the cross section.

No sound. Tip: switch to full screen to read the drawing.

User guide

Look inside the user guide

22 illustrated pages: every command, setting, layer and sign. Here are 8 of them; tap a page to open it in the guide.

Read all 22 pages

What it draws

One command builds the complete road

  • Road and edges

    Width both sides of the centre line, CL linetype, surface hatch and chainage.

  • Turning radius

    Every bend filleted automatically, 10 m at the centre line by default.

  • Edges and median

    Red and white barricades, traffic cones or kerb stone, a paved shoulder, and a median of barricades or cones. All counted for ordering.

  • Widening, tapers, junctions

    Add an extra lane (RDW), change the width (RDT) or join a new road with kerb returns, an auxiliary lane and an island (RDJ).

  • Signs and markings

    Signs sized by speed limit, delineator posts on curves, centre and edge lines, lane arrows and paint quantities.

  • Radius and sections

    C1 curve data and S1 straight data labelled on the plan.

  • Cross sections

    Layers, crossfall, shoulder, barricade, cone or kerb, and sign heights, with dimensions.

  • Report and Excel

    Tables in the drawing plus a CSV file for Excel, saved next to the DWG.

Screenshots

From the demo drawing

Road network drawn with RoadPro: widening W1 on both sides with curve tapers, junction J1 at 90 degrees and junction J2 at a skew, edge and lane lines, barricades and chainage
Junctions, widening and markings
Road plan in AutoCAD: red and white barricades, centre line, lane arrows and chainage marks every 20 m
The road on the plan
Sign legend next to the road: keep right, give way, road works ahead, speed limit, road closed board, chevron and lane arrows
Signs and the S1 straight label
RoadPro report open in Excel: geometry, barricade counts by side and colour, signs and markings
The Excel report

Install

Install and load in under a minute

Unzip RoadPro.zip, then in AutoCAD:

  1. 1

    APPLOAD

    Type APPLOAD in the AutoCAD command line.

  2. 2

    Load

    Select RoadPro.lsp and click Load.

  3. 3

    Startup

    Contents → add it to the Startup Suite so it loads in every session.

  4. 4

    RDP

    Type RDP to open the RoadPro dialog.

Workflow

From centre line to finished drawing in six steps

The whole sequence runs from one command. Steps 5 and 6 ask for a placement point; press Enter to skip the tables or the section. The Excel file is saved either way.

  1. Step 1

    Set options

    RDP opens the dialog. The defaults are ready: press OK.

  2. Step 2

    Centre line

    Pick points (arcs allowed, Enter to finish) or select an existing line.

  3. Step 3

    Auto build

    Radius, edges, centre line, surface, barricades and chainage are drawn.

  4. Step 4

    Signs and ends

    Signs with IDs, tie-in or road closed, lane arrows.

  5. Step 5

    Report

    Summary on screen, Excel file saved, place the tables.

  6. Step 6

    Cross section

    Pick a point to place the typical section.

Commands

All commands and shortcuts

Every command except RDP starts by asking you to select the road's centre line (layer ROAD-CL). Chainage boxes accept 100 or 0+100.

ShortcutFull commandWhat it does
RDPROADPROBuild a complete road from a centre line (the main command)
RDRROADREPORTReport tables and an Excel file for any RoadPro road
RDRADROADRADIUSAdd radius, TC / CT and curve data (C1, C2 …) to the plan
RDSECROADSECTIONSAdd straight section labels (S1, S2 …) with length, area and bearing
RDXROADXSECCross sections: typical, at one chainage, or every interval
RDWROADWIDENLane widening: an extra lane between two chainages that comes back, with straight or curve tapers. Each side can have its own chainages and radius
RDTROADTAPERRoad taper: wider (+) or narrower (−) between two chainages; the new width continues to the road end. Each side can have its own chainages and radius
RDJROADJUNCTIONJunction / tie-in: join a new road with kerb-return radius, opened edge, corner surface, barricades, STOP / GIVE WAY and turning-area markings. Optional auxiliary lane (long approach taper, storage, short departure taper) and a kerbed or painted splitter island
RDMROADMARKRoad markings: yellow L4 edge lines, white L1 lane / centre line with its pattern set by speed, L2 / L2A at bends, gaps at junctions, broken L5 beside auxiliary lanes. Draw again to refresh, or remove
—ROADPRORESETRestore all settings to the defaults (no shortcut on purpose, so you can't reset by accident)

Useful AutoCAD keys while using RoadPro

  • UUndo the whole road in one step
  • F2Command history: the summary and the Excel file path
  • EnterFinish the centre line, or skip a prompt such as placing tables
  • EscCancel the command

Widening vs taper: RDW adds an extra lane that comes back (W1, W2 …); RDT changes the width from one chainage onwards. Keep them on different chainage ranges of the same side. Junctions: run RDJ again for more branches (J1, J2 …) on either side; for a crossroads add one branch on each side at the same chainage.

Settings

Ready-made defaults

Press OK in the dialog to use them, or change any value. ROADPRORESET brings them all back.

Road width
7.30 m
Turning radius
Match existing, or manual (10 m at the centre line)
Edge / centre
Barricades / centre lines
Paved shoulder
0.50 m
Barricade unit
2.0 × 0.5 m, 0.5 m from the edge
Chainage
every 20 m
Speed limit
30 km/h
Sign sizes
By speed (Oman HDS 2017)
Crossfall
2.5%
Widening / taper
3.65 m / 30 m
Auxiliary lane
3.65 m, tapers 60 m / 30 m, storage 30 m
Pavement layers
50 / 200 / 150 mm

Layers

Everything on its own layer

Easy to freeze, colour or plot separately.

ROAD-CL
Centre line, CL linetype
ROAD-EDGE
Left and right edges
ROAD-SURFACE
Surface hatch
ROAD-BARRIER-RED / WHITE / OUTLINE
Barricade fills and black outline
ROAD-CHAINAGE
Ticks and labels
ROAD-CURVE
Radius, TC / CT, C1
ROAD-SECTION
Straights S1, S2
ROAD-SIGN*
Posts, plates, symbols
ROAD-MARKING*
Lane arrows
ROAD-TIEIN
Tie-in line and E / N
ROAD-REPORT
Tables and legend
ROAD-XSEC*
Cross section parts
ROAD-WIDENING
Widening and taper labels
ROAD-JUNCTION
Junction labels, corner R

Report

Report tables and an Excel file

Placed in the drawing and saved as a CSV next to the DWG (e.g. ROAD-01_RoadPro_Report.csv). Run RDR any time to make it again.

  • Summary: general, geometry, barricades, signs, road ends, chainage
  • Curve data: TC / CT chainage, radius, arc, deflection, E / N
  • Road sections: every straight and curve with length, edges and area
  • Setting-out: E / N of the centre line and both edges at every chainage
  • Sign schedule: ID, sign, chainage, side, facing and post E / N
  • Widening, taper and junction setting-out: new edge offset, kerb returns TC / IP / CT with E / N
  • Quantities: barricades, cones or kerb length, and the paved shoulder area
  • Road markings: edge and lane line lengths and paint area in m²

Help

Quick fixes for common questions

Unknown command RDP

Load RoadPro.lsp with APPLOAD. It needs full AutoCAD, not LT.

The road is 1000 times too small or too big

Choose Millimeters under Drawing units for millimetre drawings.

Turning radius is too small

At the centre line, the radius must be more than half the road width.

The black outline isn't visible

That's the dark screen background. It still plots black.

The Excel file couldn't be saved

Close the old CSV in Excel, then run RDR again.

Dimension text is the wrong size

Set the dimension style's text height to 0.

The junction isn't formed

Start the branch on the main road's centre line, away from widened or tapered edges.

The widening runs outside the road

Start must be at least the taper-in length, and End + taper out must stay within the road.

A chainage isn't accepted

Type 100 or 0+100. Versions before 3.0 take plain metres only.

The island lanes are too narrow

RoadPro warns when a lane beside the island is under 2.75 m. Make the island narrower or the branch road wider.

Where is the Excel file?

Next to the DWG, named like ROAD-01_RoadPro_Report.csv. Press F2 to see the full path.

Download

Get RoadPro 3.2

Free. Sign in or create a free account, then the download starts.

RoadPro plugin

RoadPro.lsp and install notes in a zip, 55 KB

User guide

Every command, setting, layer and sign, with pictures. PDF, 22 pages, 405 KB; also as PowerPoint.

PDF PowerPoint

Shortcut keys

One page of shortcut keys to print or keep open. Excel sheet, 7 KB.

Download

Questions or a feature request? Write to us.