HOW TO

Split polyline features where they intersect polygon boundaries in ArcGIS Pro

Last Published: July 19, 2023

Summary

This article describes two methods to split lines intersecting polygon boundaries. The first option splits lines at polygon boundaries while retaining all the lines and geometry of the original feature class. The second option only includes split line segments overlapping the polygons.

Procedure

Note:
These tools require an Advanced ArcGIS Pro license.

Split lines at intersecting points

  1. Identify the points where the polygon boundaries intersect the lines using the Intersect tool.
    1. In ArcGIS Pro, navigate to Analysis > Tools.
    2. In the Geoprocessing pane, search for the Intersect tool.
Use the Search function in the Geoprocessing pane.
  1. Under Parameters, select the line and polygon layers for Input Features, and specify the location for the Output Feature Class.
  2. For Output Type, select Point. Click Run.
Specify desired layers in the Input Features.
  1. Split the lines at the intersecting points using the Split Line at Point tool.
    1. In the Geoprocessing pane, search for the Split Line at Point tool.
    2. Under Parameters, select the line layer for Input Features.
    3. For Point Features, select Intersect from the drop-down list.
    4. Specify the new layer name and location for the Output Feature Class.
    5. For this example, use 0.1 Meters for Search Radius. Click Run.
Specify the desired line layer.

Split the lines outside the polygon boundaries using the Intersect tool

Note:
Use this method if there is no Advanced license in ArcGIS Pro.
  1. In ArcGIS Pro, navigate to Analysis > Tools.
  2. In the Geoprocessing pane, search for the Intersect tool.
  3. Under Parameters, select the polygon and line layers for Input Features, and specify the location for the Output Feature Class.
  4. For Output Type, select Line. Click Run.

The following image shows the split lines outside the polygon boundary and only the line overlapping the polygon intact.

The lines outside of the polygon boundary are split, and only the line overlapping the polygon is intact.
Note:
For this method, the lines outside the polygon boundaries are not included in the output.

Article ID: 000026247

Software:
  • ArcGIS Pro 2 8 x
  • ArcGIS Pro 2 7 x
  • ArcGIS Pro 2 x

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