Massachusetts Highway Route Log
Users Guide
INTRODUCTION
The goal of the Massachusetts Route Log Application (MRLA) is to give users a detailed
view of any portion of the Massachusetts numbered route system (Interstate, US
Highway, or State numbered). Because there is a lot of information that can be shown
across any particular route, each route is broken down into 2.0 mile roadway sections
which make up a route log page. MRLA consists of two main parts, the Route Selection
Page and the Route Log Page.
THE ROUTE SELECTION PAGE
The Route Selection Page is used as a
means to define the route and area along
the route the user wishes to view in the
Route Log Page.
Selecting a Route
There are two ways a user can select a
route which can then be viewed in the
Route Log Page. The first way is to select
a route in the drop down list on the topleft of the route selection page (below the
banne
r).
The other mechanism to select a route is to use the Route Selection Tool in the Tools
box. Click on the Route Selection Tool, and then draw a box across the route you wish to
view. If more than one route is selected, then a dialog will display with a drop down list
allowing the user to narrow down the route selection to just one route.
Route Selection Tool
SELECT BEGIN MILEPOST
TOOL
Narrowing the Route Sections
SELECT MILEPOSTS BY
STRIPMAPS TOOL
CLEAR SELECTION TOOL
SELECT END MILEPOST
TOOL
The remaining tools in the Tools box allow the user to narrow down what routes sections
will be displayed in the Route Log Page. The Select Begin Milepost Tool will define the
beginning milepost where the route sections will begin. Click on the Select Begin
Milepost Tool and then click on the route where the sections should begin. The beginning
milepost will appear down below, and a green icon will be displayed on the route.
The Select End Milepost Tool will define ending milepost where the route sections will
end. Click on the Select End Milepost Tool and then click on the route where the sections
will end. The ending milepost will appear in a text box down below, and a red icon will
be display on the route.
The Select Mileposts by Stripmaps Tool defines the exact route sections that will be
displayed. Click on the tool and the route section boxes will be displayed for the route.
Next, click and drag the mouse across the route to select the route section boxes that
will be displayed in the Route Log Page.
The Clear Selection Tool will clear all route, milepost, and stripmap selections. Click on
the Clear Selection Tool and the route, milepost markers, and stripmaps will disappear if
applicable.
Below the Tools box is the Update Milepost Tools. These tools allow the user to narrow
down the route sections by allowing the user to determine the beginning milepost and
ending milepost by selecting a town and road, bridge, and/or road along the route.
The users can also manually update the mileposts by typing in the begin and end
milepost textboxes at the bottom of the page and pressing the Update Milepost button
to the right of the text boxes.
VIEWING THE ROUTE LOG PAGE
Once the route is selected the route log for the route can be displayed by pressing the
View Route Log button.
The Route Log Page
Each route log page will show a map of the route section, a straight-line graphic of the
roadway, a ruler, and an event list graphic.
Map
The map provides an overhead view
of the route within the defined route
log page/section. Note that the mile
markers in the ruler below may not
line up perfectly with the route on the
map. This is because the route on the
map bends and turns while the ruler measures the distance between where the route
enters and exits each section.
Straight Line Diagram(SLD)
The straight-line diagram graphic
shows all intersecting roads, active
rails, water bodies, political
boundaries, and bridges. Alongside
each element in the straight-line
diagram is a number denoting the
milepost at which the element will
occur along the route. If the pointer device (i.e. mouse) hovers over the element, text
may appear in the straight line diagram window noting the milepost and name of the
element.
Ruler
Directly below the straight-line diagram is the ruler. The ruler provides the measurement
in miles for each route log page. The straight-line diagram and event list should line up
accurately to the ruler. The map will
line up accurately with the route log
only where the route enters and exits
the route log page. The route will bend and wind along the map in the route log page
causing it to deviate from the ruler measurements.
Event List
Underneath the rule is the event list
table, showing the information such as
functional class, jurisdiction, number of
lanes, pavement width, etc. Click the mouse
on a particular event on the far right of the
event list to view a data description of the
event.
The list of events can be modified using the
list box provided above
and to the right of the
map. Events can be
added or removed from
the event list by selecting them in the provided list box and pressing
the Apply Events button. Press the control key on the key board
while using the mouse to select or remove one element at a time.
Press the shift key on the keyboard to select multiple items at once.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Each numbered roadway is measured in mileposts from beginning to end, with milepost
signs in the field that correspond to milepoints shown in the 2.0 mile roadway sections
in MRLA. To better coordinate between the milepost in the field and the road inventory,
a linear referencing system (LRS) has been developed within the road inventory
database. The LRS provides the ability to connect the milepost signs in the field with the
road inventory file through the use of milepoints. MRLA uses the LRS to display the
attributes of the road inventory numbered routes in orthographic, graphic and tabular
format.
The data displayed in this application may not be what the user intuitively expects to
see. The following describe cases where and when the data displayed will not match
expectations.
1) Primary versus opposing route directions
Primary routes are routes that run from West to East or South to North. Opposing
routes are the same as primary routes, but in the opposite or opposing direction.
Opposing routes run from East to West or North to South. For example: I 95 NB is a
primary route, while I 95 SB is an opposing route. Primary and opposing routes are
viewed by automobile drivers as the same indistinguishable route, but the LRS stores
each direction as a separate route so that unique events that occur on either side of
the route can be identified, managed and reported.
MRLA displays roadway attribute information starting at a zero milepost located at
the southern or western most point of all primary and opposing routes, this way the
milepost on the primary and opposing side of a route match. When the primary and
opposing directions are not parallel for a short distance, the milepoints continue to
increase separately. Once the routes rejoin, an equation or adjustment occurs to realign the milepoints to match the measure of the longest route at that point.
2) SLD displays route in once direction
Straight Line Diagram (SLD) displays route in one direction only. Though the highway
may appear as if it is bi-directional, the SLD will is only showing the route in one
direction (i.e. northbound, southbound, eastbound or westbound).
3) Straight Line Diagram (SLD) display of intersections differs for divided and
undivided routes
Divided routes (such as interstates) have medians between opposing lanes of traffic.
Undivided routes principally function without barriers or gaps between opposing lanes
of traffic, but often have short divided sections near large interchanges. For divided
routes or sections of separated undivided routes, each direction of traffic is recorded
as an individual route. Only roadways intersecting the chosen individual route are
displayed in the SLD. Roadways intersecting the opposing lanes of traffic are not
displayed. For example, if an undivided northbound route is selected, the SLD will
display all intersecting roadways on the northbound and southbound direction.
However, for the short divided sections along the route, the SLD will only display
roadways that intersect with the northbound side of the route. For divided routes or
separated sections of undivided routes, the SLD will display intersections that carry
across both directions regardless of which direction was chosen.
4) The Straight Line Diagram takes the curvature out of the routes
The graphic representation of intersecting features is most accurately displayed in
graphic format when the curvature of each route is removed. As a result,
intersecting features such as streams, bridges and roadways may not line up
accurately to the features in the orthophoto image or data view, especially after
sharp turns.
5) Negative mileposts and mileposts exceeding route length
The start and/or end symbol shown in the Route Selection Map will not display if
negative measures or measures larger than the maximum measure for a selected
route are entered in the Mile post “From” and “To” option. However, the route will
still be highlighted.
6) Equation Routes
The data displayed is based off the mileposts in a calibrated milepost route GIS
dataset known as the equation routes. This means that rather than having equation
points along the route at certain locations in order to adjust the measurement values,
the route is instead calibrated to seamlessly adjust and integrate the measurements
along the route. The cause for adjustment is mainly to align the milepost
measurement values along both directions of the route.