Hate to be a Kiljoy here but I am so frustrated with XaraX brushes and my map-making needs, I decided to learn more about AI-CS graphic styles: Man, are they way cool.

Create a, say, "freeway" style with overlapping and variable sized strokes, create a new layer, trace the freeways from the underlying bitmap template, apply a layer style and, bingo" all paths stylize appropriately and...there's more...their intersections fuse. And...yes, there's more...keep drawing paths on this layer and the new paths are appropriately stylized and their intersections fuse as well...

Never thought I'd find a "gotcha" in AI.

That's throwing down the gauntlet, Charles, eh? http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/smile.giftheir