ROUTE: Route Optimization for Understanding Transportation Engineering
ROUTE is a hex-grid route design and cost comparison tool with connectivity checks and GMNS export/import.
Quick Start
- Select a Scenario or keep Custom.
- Choose a Landscape and set linear and curve costs.
- Choose origin and destination IDs.
- Draw a route in Path mode by clicking adjacent cells in travel order.
- Click Check Connectivity to confirm whether the route is complete.
- Export GMNS when you want node/link/path files for later use.
Example Uses
- Cost comparison: design two valid routes between the same O/D pair and compare user, construction, and combined cost.
- Landscape effect: keep the route shape similar and switch landscapes to see terrain-cost changes.
- Interchange: export GMNS, clear the route, then re-open the exported files.
Things To Notice
- A route must be adjacent cell-by-cell and meet the minimum segment requirement.
- GMNS export downloads multiple files; allow multiple downloads if the browser asks.
References
- Legacy ROUTE lab material credits Glen Koorey's approach, Getting from A to B: Using an Interactive Display to Demonstrate Transportation Planning and Design Issues.
- Liao, C.-F., Liu, H. X., and Levinson, D. M. (2009). Simulating Transportation for Realistic Engineering Education and Training: Engaging Undergraduate Students in Transportation Studies. Transportation Research Record, 2109, 12-21. https://doi.org/10.3141/2109-02
- Original STREET project: Simulating Transportation for Realistic Engineering Education and Training, University of Minnesota legacy project site. http://street.umn.edu