[Talk-us] What is the meaning of hgv:national_network=yes/terminal_access?

[Paul Norman]

On 2019-08-04 7:56 a.m., Joseph Eisenberg wrote:
> I've found this undocumented tag, used 130,000 times, almost
> exclusively in the USA.
>
> https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/keys/hgv%3Anational_network#overview
>
> Values: yes 86.56%   terminal_access 13.37%
>
> I thought it might be imported from Tiger, but the usage has increased
> gradually since 2012: 60k more ways have been tagged in that time.

If you look at the length, it increased to 100000 km in Nov 2011, and to 
132000 km in Nov 2012. Aside from those sudden increases, there has been 
no change in usage.

> How are these tags being used?

They're not.

> I'm guessing that hgv:national_network=yes means that a road is
> designated for heavy trucks to use for long-distance trips.

It means that it has a particular designation for budget purposes with a 
department of the federal government.

If I'm recalling correctly, these tags were invented by NE2 and never 
subject to any discussion, no data consumers use them, and they are 
poorly documented.