Realign routes

Available with Location Referencing license.

During the life span of a roadway, route geometry and length can change. Existing route sections are updated, while others are added. Major changes, such as environmental concerns or repair work, can require an update in the shape of the route's geometry and length.

ArcGIS Roads and Highways uses centerlines to make realignments. The Realign tool can be used to realign a single route or to realign several adjoining routes that are part of the same line.

Centerline features used to realign routes can be existing features in the centerline feature class, be digitized into the centerline feature class (using aerial photography or other basemaps for guidance), be copied and pasted from other feature classes, or be imported from CAD files or other ArcGIS-supported data sources.

The following table explains the parameters used in the Realign tool:

Variable	Continuous Measure network
Network	The network in which the continuous routes exist.
Effective Date	The date when the realignment takes place on the ground.
Source Route: Route ID	The route where the realignment takes place.
Source Route: From Measure	The measure on the source route where the realignment starts, shown by the green dot.
Source Route: To Measure	The measure on the source route where the realignment ends, shown by the red dot.
Realigned Route: From Measure	The starting measure on the realigned portion.
Realigned Route: To Measure	The ending measure on the realigned portion.

Route realignment scenario

In the following example, the route (RouteXYZ) has a start measure of 0 and an end measure of 30 before realignment. The realign section has measures from 10 to 20.

Route ID	RouteXYZ
From Measure	10
To Measure	20
Recalibrate downstream	Yes

After realignment, the realigned section has measures from 10 to 35, while the entire route has measures from 0 to 45.

Route ID	RouteXYZ
From Measure	10
To Measure	35

Complex route realignment scenarios

Complex route realignment scenarios, including loop, lollipop, gapped, branch, and infinity routes are described below.

Realignment on a loop route

The route is realigned from measure 0 to measure 4, which is from the beginning to the middle of the route. In the following example, RouteX has a start measure of 0 and an end measure of 12 before realignment:

With downstream recalibration, the realignment results in a RouteX start measure of 0 and end measure of 17.5.

Realignment on a lollipop route

RouteX is realigned from measure 8 to measure 15. In the following example, RouteX has a start measure of 0 and an end measure of 15 before realignment:

Because the realignment is from the middle to the end, downstream recalibration does not apply. RouteX is realigned with a start measure of 0 and an end measure of 17.

Realignment on a gapped route

In the following example, a gapped route (RouteX) has a start measure of 0 and an end measure of 4 before realignment. The route is realigned from measure 1 to measure 3, which is in the middle of the route.

With downstream recalibration, the realignment will result in a RouteX start measure of 0 and an end measure of 12.

Realignment on an infinity route

In the following example, a route (RouteX) has a start measure of 0 and an end measure of 24 before realignment. The route is realigned from measure 7 to measure 11, which is in the middle of the route.

With downstream recalibration, RouteX has a start measure of 0 and an end measure of 26.

Realignment on a branch route

In the following example, RouteX has a start measure of 0 and an end measure of 9 before realignment is realigned in the middle:

With downstream recalibration, the realigned RouteX has a start measure of 0 and an end measure of 12.

Use the following steps to realign routes:

Note:

Gap calibration rules are followed when editing routes.

1. Add the centerline and network feature class to a map.

   Alternatively, open a map in which the centerline and network feature class are present.

   Note:

   Traditionally versioned networks must be edited through a direct connection to the geodatabase. Branch versioned networks, including networks configured with a user-generated route ID, must be edited through a feature service.

2. Zoom in to the location where you want to realign the route.
3. On the Location Referencing tab, in the Routes group, click Realign .

   

   The Realign Route pane appears with the Select By Rectangle option active by the default.

4. Select one or more centerlines by rectangle at the location of the new route.

   You can also click the Select one or more centerlines drop-down arrow and choose one of the other selection tools: Select By Polygon , Select By Lasso , Select By Circle , Select By Line , or Select By Trace .

   Alternatively, use the interactive selection tools on the Map tab:

   The selected centerlines are highlighted on the map, and the Allow choosing of one or more centerlines button appears in the Realign Route pane. The selected centerlines count is shown above the table.

   Note:

   • The direction of digitization of the centerline, depicted by the direction of the arrowhead on the selected centerline, also determines the direction of increasing measure calibration. You can reverse direction for the chosen centerlines using the Flip the direction of the centerlines button . This leads to an in-memory flip of the centerline's direction and the change in direction is not permanent.
   • You can keep the centerlines chosen after realigning the route.
   • If the centerline was created as a curve, Roads and Highways converts the curve into a densified polyline feature.
5. Click Allow choosing of one or more centerlines .

   A table appears in the Realign Route pane with each chosen centerline in a numbered row that corresponds to the selection order. Chosen centerlines are numbered on the map and highlighted. The count is shown above the table.

   

6. Optionally, choose one or more rows from the Order column and use the buttons below the table to change the centerline selection order. You can also drag rows to change the order.

   Changes in the table selection order are also shown on the map.

   Tools available in the centerlines table

   Tool	Tool name	Tool description
   	Allow choosing of one or more centerlines	Allows you to choose the centerlines on the map and displays them in a table by order of selection. Use the move buttons below the table or drag rows to reorder the chosen centerlines.
   	Clear the currently chosen centerlines	Clears the chosen centerlines and keeps the selected centerlines. You can reselect after clicking this button or click the Allow choosing one or more centerlines button a second time.
   	Move chosen centerlines up	Moves one or more selected centerlines up a row in the table order.
   	Move chosen centerlines to the top	Moves one or more centerlines to the top of the table order.
   	Move chosen centerlines down	Moves one or more centerlines down a row in the table order.
   	Move chosen centerlines to the bottom	Moves one or more centerlines to the bottom of the table order.
   	Flip the direction of the centerlines	Reverses the direction of the chosen centerlines. This leads to an in-memory flip of the centerlines' direction and the change in direction is not permanent.
   	Remove the chosen centerlines	Removes the chosen centerline from the table order but leaves it selected.

   Tip:

   To change the display field in the centerlines table, right-click the centerline feature class in the Contents pane and choose Properties from the context menu. On the Layer Properties dialog box, click the Display tab, and click the Display field drop-down arrow to change its value. In the previous image, the display field is OBJECTID.

7. In the Realign Route pane, choose the network in which you want to realign a route.

   Note:

   To edit using feature services, the LRS Network must be published with linear referencing and version management capabilities.

8. Click the Effective Date drop-down arrow and choose a date for the edit.

   Tip:

   You can also provide the date, or double-click the empty Effective Date text box to insert the current date.

9. Optionally, if the centerline doesn't touch the route, use the pickers to populate the From Route Name, To Route Name, From Measure, and To Measure parameters.

   If the centerline touches the routes, the From Route Name, From Measure, To Route Name, and To Measure parameters in the Source Route section are automatically populated.

   Note:

   After clicking Choose route from map or Choose measure from map , you can hover over the route to see the route and measure at the location of the pointer.

   If only one applicable route exists at the edit location on the map, click to select it. If multiple routes are applicable, click the location and choose one of the applicable routes from the Select Route dialog box.

   Note:

   If a message regarding acquiring locks or reconciling appears, conflict prevention is enabled.

   After a route is selected, the tool will attempt to release the route lock if the route lock is acquired by the active user in a different version and its releasable status property value is yes.

10. Optionally, provide a starting measure value.

    The From Measure value in the Realigned Route section is automatically populated. The suggested starting measure value is the measure at the location where the start of the centerline touches the source route.

11. Optionally, provide an ending measure value of your choice.

    The To Measure value is automatically populated in the Realigned Route section.

    Note:

    • Z-values are considered when calculating the geometric length of the centerlines.
    • Centerlines and routes support z-values.
12. Click Run.

    Note:

    If your route edit will result in the introduction of one or more physical gaps on the route, a prompt appears to alert you before the tool is run. If you don't plan to create a gapped route, answer No and edit the digitized centerlines so that no gaps result during route editing.

    You can prevent unplanned centerlines by enabling snapping in the active map, or by enabling snapping using the Edit tab, Snapping group, Snapping button .

    The route realignment runs.