Abstract: One aspect identifies an interconnect and associated design rule(s) and moves a portion of the interconnect to an adjacent track by using a spreading process on a one-dimensional design data based on the design rule(s) to determine whether the interconnect including the moved portion provides a DRC clean implementation. This aspect examines an interconnect in its entirety without being confined within a prescribed boundary of a fixed region in the layout. The one-dimensional design data provides expedient runtime and may be converted back into two-dimensional form for the layout. Another aspect iterates through multiple spreading distances to route or modify interconnects in a layout by performing multiple Boolean operations on the interconnect and adjacent shape(s) to determine the final form of the newly created or modified interconnect complying with various design rules.