National Transportation Atlas Database

National Transportation Atlas Database
Sakurambo · Public domain · source
Name	National Transportation Atlas Database
Developer	United States Department of Transportation
Released	2000s
Latest release version	ongoing
Operating system	Cross-platform
License	Public domain (U.S. Government)

National Transportation Atlas Database

The National Transportation Atlas Database provides geospatial datasets for the transportation infrastructure of the United States and territories. It supports planning, research, and operations for agencies such as the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, and users like United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Geological Survey, Environmental Protection Agency. The database interlinks with programs including the Census Bureau and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for resilience, response, and policy analysis.

Overview

The database originated as a collaboration among the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, United States Department of Transportation, and mapping partners such as the United States Geological Survey and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It complements legacy projects like the Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing system and interfaces with national geospatial initiatives from the Geospatial One-Stop and the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. Federal stakeholders include the Office of Management and Budget, Congressional Research Service, Government Accountability Office, and regional users such as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York) and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. International coordination occurs with bodies like the International Civil Aviation Organization, World Bank, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Data Content and Themes

Datasets cover multimodal networks and related attributes: highway, rail, water, air, pipeline, transit, and intermodal facilities. Themes include highway mileposts and corridors referenced by the Federal Highway Administration, rail lines tracked by the Association of American Railroads, airports cataloged by the Federal Aviation Administration, and ports listed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Other themes link to modal regulators and programs such as the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Maritime Administration, Amtrak, and the Surface Transportation Board. Modal datasets reference navigational aids used by the Coast Guard, freight flows considered by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics freight analysis frameworks, and hazard overlays used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and National Weather Service.

Data Formats and Access

NTAD distributes datasets in standard geospatial formats compatible with software vendors like Esri and open-source projects such as QGIS and libraries backed by the Open Geospatial Consortium. File formats include Shapefile, GeoJSON, and coverage of Keyhole Markup Language exports for visualization in platforms like Google Earth and enterprise services from Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Metadata practices align with the Federal Geographic Data Committee guidelines and cataloging systems used by the Data.gov platform and the National Information Exchange Model for interoperability with systems at the United States Postal Service and Federal Transit Administration.

Applications and Uses

Planners at metropolitan planning organizations such as the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco Bay Area), and Metropolitan Council (Twin Cities) use NTAD for corridor studies, while researchers at institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University, and Cornell University use it for modeling. Emergency managers at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security integrate NTAD with situational awareness systems used by National Guard units and local emergency operations centers. Freight analysts at United States Department of Agriculture and Bureau of Economic Analysis combine NTAD with commodity data from the Census Bureau and trade statistics managed by the United States International Trade Commission. Transit agencies such as New York City Transit, Bay Area Rapid Transit, and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority use datasets for capital programming and service planning. Private sector firms including FedEx, United Parcel Service, Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and logistics platforms incorporate NTAD for routing, asset management, and supply chain optimization.

Maintenance and Governance

Stewardship is led by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics with coordination across modal administrations including the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Maritime Administration, and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Governance follows federal data policies administered by the Office of Management and Budget and technical standards set by the Federal Geographic Data Committee. Data updates rely on contributions from state departments of transportation such as California Department of Transportation, Texas Department of Transportation, and Florida Department of Transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, and private sector partners. Oversight and audit functions connect to the Government Accountability Office and the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation to ensure accuracy, provenance, and adherence to open data mandates enforced by the National Archives and Records Administration and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Category:Transportation databases