The growing concern with the pleasing form of our roads necessitates a three-dimensional alignment design in which both function and form are equal design elements. More reliable methods for evaluation of scenic routes and three-dimensional design in rural areas are investigated. The determination of the corridor and the location of the alignment itself is dependent upon many variables besides geometric design standards and aesthetic considerations. Separated layout of horizontal and vertical design is often the cause of poor alignment. Some coordination of plan and profile can be obtained by application of aesthetic principles. With regard to location problems, two phases are proposed: taking inventory of the landscape by evaluation of selected scenic routes, and testing the combined plan and profile as three-dimensional alignment. In the past, aerial photogrammetry and model construction were used to imply three-dimensional illustrations. However, this technique can be improved by changing the view from the vertical to the horizontal direction and applying oblique photogrammetry and central perspective. In connection with the electronic computer and oblique photogrammetry, a device is proposed to produce perspective spatial movies in the horizontal direction for the evaluation of the best scenic route. Further, for the three-dimensional alignment design, an improved road movie has been introduced incorporating both internal and external alignment and objects along the road. Additional improvements can be obtained by stereoscopic approach which provides the depth perception for both types of motion pictures. New approaches and methods should be considered to obtain optimum solutions. /author/.
Abstract