DIOLKOS is complete and autonomous new generation road design software. It covers all the cases of road design projects including highways, local and collector roads (at urban or rural regions), roads inside forest areas, railways, airfield runways, multiple road projects such as intersections, motorways with service roads etc. Beyond the native transportation projects, Diolkos is able to design hydraulic projects including riverbed delimitation and arrangement, projects for channels, ditches, booms etc. These projects are covered completely, from the preparation of background and the calculation of digital model until the quantities measurement and drawings.

The latest DIOLKOS version 6 implements a number of innovative characteristics and technologies making it one of the most advanced and complete software, in general technical software category.

The major characteristic of DIOLKOS is the integration of two dimensional (2D) entities composing the plan, profile and cross-sections designs into a three dimensional (3D) model of road in conjunction with the surrounding terrain.

This characteristic was a real challenge for the development team to implement it. On the other hand the development of the traditional solution with two dimensional (2D) individual units have been exhausted. Each effort for maintenance in the traditional structure in future versions, would be disproportional to the desirable result, leading finally the software to scorn. Making use of the latest advanced technology we finally replace the time-consuming and complicated briefings between the individual 2D units by a single 3D confrontation of the project, in all stages of the road design procedure.

This particular characteristic, differentiates DIOLKOS from all similar programs and gives the designer much more flexibility for solutions in special designing cases

In the present version (6), DIOLKOS automatically computes the geometry of the plan, stations, profile, cross-sections and 3D model of road in conjunction with the surrounding terrain after any change in alignment geometry. The user conceives the above calculations as a small delay during the commands that the program executes.

Based on calculated 3D model of the road in conjunction with the surrounding terrain, DIOLKOS can project perspective or to a plane the 3d model of the entire project in real time, without farther calculations. The virtual 3D animation following the road axis constitutes the absolute method of controling the stopping sighting distance of a roadway.

Thus DIOLKOS constitutes a complete and robust 3D program, giving the designer the most powerful tool in order to monitor the design process at all stages.