National Transportation Atlas Databases 2002
THE BUREAU OF TRANSPORTATION STATISTICS (BTS)
OUR MISSION
To lead in developing transportation data and information of high quality and to advance
their effective use in public and private transportation decision-making.
OUR VISION
Data and information of high quality supporting every significant transportation policy
decision, thus advancing the quality of life and the economic well-being of all Americans.
DESCRIPTION
The National Transportation Atlas Databases 2002 (NTAD2002) is a set of nationwide geographic
databases of transportation facilities, transportation networks, and associated infrastructure. These datasets
include spatial information for transportation modal networks and intermodal terminals, as well as the related
attribute information for these features. Metadata documentation, as prescribed by the Federal Geographic
Data Committee (FGDC), is also provided for each database. The data on this twin set of compact disks
(CDROMs) support research, analysis, and decision-making across all modes of transportation. They are
most useful at the national level, but have major applications at regional, state, and local scales throughout
the transportation community.
These databases do not provide explicit connections between modal networks and terminals. BTS plans to
enhance future releases to provide intermodal connectivity, additional attributes, and passenger and
commodity flow information.
Format:
Based on requests from our spatial data users and our continuing effort to make NTAD
data useful to the greatest number of people, we are distributing this product in
shapefile format. The shapefile is an open format created by the Environmental
Systems Research Institute (ESRI). You can find additional information about the
format at: www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/shapefile.pdf
Design:
The NTAD2002 databases are designed for use within a geographic information
system (GIS). However, the attribute data for each dataset can be accessed in any
database, spreadsheet, or other software package. This information is stored in
dBASE format.
Compilation:
The data used to compile NTAD2002 was provided by our partners within the U.S.
Department of Transportation (USDOT) and throughout other federal government
agencies. These contributors are the actual data stewards and are ultimately
responsible for the maintenance and accuracy of their data. BTS performs structured
quality evaluations on the NTAD databases as they are incorporated into research and
analysis projects. Further details pertaining to the NTAD2002 compilation process
may be found in the metadata file associated with each dataset.
CONTENTS
NTAD2002 is organized into a series of subdirectories, one for each feature type (point, polyline, and
polygon) and one for each database.
Transportation networks are polyline databases. Transportation facilities are point databases. The
geographic reference databases may exist as any of the three feature types: point, polyline, or polygon.
All data included on these CDROMs are in shapefile format. Each shapefile dataset (be it point, polyline or
polygon) within NTAD2002 is composed of four different files:
 the main file (.shp) that stores the feature geometry
 the index file (.shx) that stores the indices of the feature geometry
 the dBASE file (.dbf) that stores the attribute information for the features
 the projection file (.prj) that stores the projection and datum information for the dataset.
The shapefile format is a simple, non-topological format for storing the geometric location and attribute
information of geographic features. For further information concerning the definition of SHAPE, consult
ESRI documentation.
Metadata documentation describing source, responsible agency, file format, and any additional discussion
regarding the use of a dataset, is provided in the hypertext markup language (.htm) and text (.txt) files located
within each database subdirectory. There is also an extensible markup language (.shp.xml) file that provides
metadata viewable with ArcGIS software. Other supporting documentation may be provided in text (.txt) or
Word (.doc) format.
A listing of the NTAD2002 database subdirectories, with a brief description of each, follows:
= New Dataset
= Updated Dataset
Point
airport
amtk_sta
Public-Use Airports--Landing facilities in the United States--Data provided and
maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 2002.
Amtrak Stations--Data provided and maintained by the Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), 2000.
place2000
National Populated Places--Place locations from the 2000 Census Master Area
Reference File--Data provided and maintained by the Bureau of the Census (BOC),
2000.
port
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Ports--Data provided and maintained
by the USACE, 2002.
terminal
Intermodal Terminal Facilities- - Dataset compiled for the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics (BTS), 1998.
Polyline
nhpn
National Highway Planning Network (NHPN), Version 4.0--Data provided and
maintained by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), 2002. (Note: A
nodal shapefile called “nhpnnd” is also provided.)
rail100k
Railway Network (1:100,000 base scale)--Data provided and maintained by the
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), 2002. (Note: A nodal shapefile called
“rail100knd” is also provided.)
rail2m
Railway Network (1:2,000,000 base scale)--Data provided and maintained by the
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), 2002. (Note: A nodal shapefile called
“rail2mnd” is also provided.)
runway
Public Use Airport Runways--Data provided and maintained by the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA), 2002, 1998.
transit
Fixed-Guideway Transit and Ferry Network--Data provided and maintained by
the Federal Transit Authority (FTA), 1997.
waterway
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Navigable Waterway Network—Data
provided by the USACE, 2002. (Note: A nodal shapefile called “waterwaynd”
is also provided.)
Polygon
boc_uza
Bureau of the Census Urbanized Area Boundaries (1:100,000 base scale)—Data
provided and maintained by the Bureau of the Census (BOC), 2000.
cd107
The 107th Congressional Districts Boundaries (1:100,000 base scale)—Data
provided and maintained by the Bureau of the Census (BOC), 2000.
county
U.S. County Boundaries (1:100,000 base scale)--Data provided and maintained
by the Bureau of the Census (BOC), 2000.
fhwa_uza
hydro
milbase
Federal Aid Urbanized Area Boundaries (1:100,000 base scale)--Data provided
and maintained by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), 1995.
Hydrographic Features--Data provided and maintained by the U.S. Bureau of the
Census (BOC), 2000. (Note: A linear shapefile called “hydrolin” is also
provided.)
U.S. Military Installations--Data provided by the Military Traffic Management
Command Transportation Engineering Agency (MTMCTEA), 2002.
Msa
National Metropolitan Statistical Areas (1:100,000 base scale)--Data provided
and maintained by the Bureau of the Census (BOC), 2000.
park
National Park System Boundary Dataset--Data provided and maintained by the
National Park Service (NPS), 2002.
state
U.S. State Boundaries (1:100,000 base scale) - - Data provided and maintained
by the Bureau of the Census (BOC), 2000.
Note: This year we have not included the BEA (Bureau of Economic Analysis Economic Areas) and the
NTAR (National Transportation Analysis Regions) datasets. As new data has not been available for a
number of years, these databases have become obsolete.
Technical Support
For assistance using these CDROMs or the data they contain, please contact the Bureau of Transportation
Statistics (BTS) at 202-366-DATA and refer to the NTAD2002. Inquiries may also be sent via e-mail to
answers@bts.gov.
For assistance with importing the data into a geographic information system (GIS) software package, please
contact technical support for the specific vendor.
User comments are critical to improving future editions of NTAD. Your feedback and corrections will be
incorporated into the subsequent releases of these datasets. Please check our website
(http://www.bts.gov/gis/) for any corrections or addendums to NTAD2002.
Acknowledgments
NTAD2002 is the result of cooperation throughout the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the U.S. Bureau of the Census (BOC), the Military Traffic
Management Command Transportation Engineering Agency (MTMCTEA), and the National Park Service
(NPS).
Most of the geographic reference datasets are products derived from the TIGER database, the TIGER /Line
files, or other products created and maintained by the U.S. Bureau of the Census (BOC). We greatly
appreciate these contributions.
Special thanks goes to the following individuals and organizations which contributed the data that made
NTAD2002 possible: Thomas Roff of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); Raphael Kedar, Carl
Fischer, and Peter Kerr of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA); Darryl Hampton of the Military
Traffic Management Command Transportation Engineering Agency (MTMCTEA); William Wiggins of the
Federal Transit Administration (FTA); David Pennick of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aeronautical Information Services (ATA-100) Office.
We would also like to recognize the contributions of the following individuals within the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics (BTS) who were responsible for compiling NTAD2002: Brent Arthurs, Derald
Dudley, Stephen Lewis, Pamela LaFontaine, Chip Moore, and Matthew Sheppard.