Impossible to Re-Build Bridges

[ncamferdam 1,504]

I've been having a very frustrating issue with bridges lately. I can build a new bridge anywhere with no issue, following the mechanics of the game. However, once a bridge is built, it is very risky to delete it because I may not be able to rebuild it. It seems like once a bridge has been built, those tails become corrupted in some way. In perhaps 50% of cases, I am not able to re-build the same bridge on the same spot, even though the road type and geography are exactly the same. Even more bizarrely, it will sometimes only make one direction possible. I can re-build a bridge by dragging in one direction but not the other, which is obviously a problem for building RHW or one-way road bridges.

Basically, I have to make absolutely sure when I build bridges that I never need to modify them. Otherwise, I risk permanently removing my ability to build any bridge in that part of the map and have to move my route elsewhere.

[CorinaMarie 29,894]

20 minutes ago, ncamferdam said:

Even more bizarrely, it will sometimes only make one direction possible.

I've experienced this for new bridges and trying to rebuild a destroyed bridge. One drag direction is no go and the other is fine.

I don't have any good answers, but I am curious if you use a Slope Mod and what happens if you remove it just to rebuild a bridge? (Sure, that'd be a royal pain in the ass to do, but if it would let you recover an important bridge it might be worth the hassle.)

And in the meantime, we'll wait for the experts as I've only had minimal trouble with bridges.

[ncamferdam 1,504]

I use NAM, and I know that has modified slopes for transportation networks so I assume it comes with some kind of standard slope mod included, but I've never installed something separate like this:

It does seem like a plausible culprit, because I don't recall it being an issue prior to installing NAM. But of course, I've also installed a billion other things in the same time period so who really knows.

[rsc204 21,866]

In the first instance you can work-around the issue by saving the game before building a bridge. Then if you need to modify something, you can reload your save file. Tedious I know, but foolproof also.

Interesting timing as I’ve been messing with a lot of monorail and el-rail bridges recently. I don’t recall any problems re-drawing bridges, but I wasn’t paying much attention to the direction either.

As Cori mentions I think step 1 is to rule out the Slope mod, because that may be affecting how and where bridges can build. Otherwise maybe some terrain adjustments might well be needed before you can re-drag a crossing. 

[ncamferdam 1,504]

Is there a way for me to remove the slope mod without uninstalling the entire NAM?

[rsc204 21,866]

Simply go into the Network Addon Mod/2 Network Features folder, you can temporarily remove the folder RRW Tunnel and Slope Parameters. However this file only applies to the Rail network, the only other Slope Mod in NAM is installed only if you use the Maxis Highway Override mod.

So if you are having issues with other networks, then this may not help, since those would use the default settings. Unless you installed another Slope Mod as a 3rd party download.

I'll add, having just tried a few tests, I do not have problems re-building bridges, I've certainly never come across the issue previously. I would still be willing to bet that something gets terraformed when building the bridge, which alters the land such that it won't rebuild in the same direction. This happens when you raise a bridge so ferries can pass under them for example, or sometimes just because it's part of the bridge building process. In those cases, you'd have to manually correct from the problem, then it should build back in the same spot/direction. As mentioned, Slope mods adjust the parameters of how all this works, for example most slope mods will prevent you from completing one of the in-game tutorials (Deluxe Features), because you can't put a bridge where it wants you too.