Description and Background
The Engineering Route Study (ERS) is an unclassified country-scale graphic designed to provide basic information on the major surface transportation systems in conjunction with terrain and climate data. The ERS is intended for use by Army and other Department of Defense contingency planners who are responding to crisis events or other international situations.
Key Capabilities
The ERS graphic provides current information on transportation systems, terrain, and environmental data. Highway system information includes road classification such as expressway, all-weather or fair-weather, surface type such as hard or loose surface, and distance in kilometers. The ERS graphic can include steep grades, sharp curves, ferry locations, key bridges and tunnels, border stations, and other man-made or environmental hazards affecting the major transportation routes. Other transportation systems delineated include C-130 capable airfields, strategic sealift capable ports, and major railroad lines. Terrain and environmental data includes key streams and rivers, surface configuration (plains, hills or mountains), areas of potential flooding and landslides, and descriptions of drainage and climate data.
Specifications and Sources
The ERS is a stand-alone graphic, designed to be plotted as an ANSI C-sized document (17 by 22 inches). Transportation information comes from a variety of data sources including native and commercial maps, United States Government and international intelligence sources, imagery and other open sources. Terrain Configuration is derived from Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data. Individual themes or layers are available for some of the studies. ERS data can be downloaded in GeoPDF and Shapefile format from all three AGC websites. A full ERS dataset is hosted as part of the Enterprise Geospatial Data Management (EGDM) web application (https://jecop.usace.army.mil/egdmapp (permissions required)) on the USACE Joint Engineering Common Operating Picture (JECOP) ArcGIS Enterprise Portal (external site), along with the Urban Tactical Planner (UTP), Regional Terrain Planner (RTP), and other military terrain datasets. The JECOP web portal also allows a user to store and share geospatial products and can be accessed here: https://jecop.usace.army.mil/portal.
Enterprise Geospatial Data Management (EGDM)
AGC's Warfighter Support Directorate recently deployed a web application that allows users to interactively request areas of interest for AGC's foundational datasets. The EGDM application allows for and enables co-production between AGC and its mission partners. Within the EGDM web application, users are able to request ERS data in several formats (Shapefile, KML, File Geodatabase, Geopackage, Map Package) based on pre-existing ERS areas of interest. Automated custom workflows run user-generated jobs to visualize, model and obtain data. The presence of the ERS dataset on the EGDM Web Application brings this data significantly closer to the point of need for the Army consumers. The seamless format and on-line tools available allow CAC enabled users easy manipulation and extraction of key data to achieve mission success.
Benefits & Current Status
The user can apply the ERS data to their specific needs. The ERS is intended to provide data at the country or operational level to assist the Warfighter in planning a variety of missions including military operations, humanitarian relief, transportation studies, and drug enforcement. There are 332 Engineering Route Studies, covering most nations, territories, and regions. Some large countries are mapped at the provincial level in order to provide coverage at a usable level of detail. The ERS datasets are downloadable from the Unclassified PKI site at: https://cac.agc.army.mil
Point of Contact: Michael A. Cioffi,
Lead, Terrain Generation
COMM: 703-428-6932
(U) michael.a.cioffi@usace.army.mil
(S) michael.a.cioffi.civ@mail.smil.mil