TIGER is an acronym for Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing.
The Census 2000 TIGER/Line files are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the Census TIGER data base. The Census 2000 TIGER/Line files consist of line segments representing physical features and governmental and statistical boundaries. The boundary information in the TIGER/Line files are for statistical data collection and tabulation purposes only; their depiction and designation for statistical purposes does not constitute a determination of jurisdictional authority or rights of ownership or entitlement.
TIGER, TIGER/Line, and Census TIGER are registered trademarks of the U.S. Census Bureau. ZCTA is a trademark of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Definition
A CFCC is used to identify the most noticeable characteristic of a feature. The CFCC is applied only once to a chain or landmark with preference given to classifications that cover features that are visible to an observer and are part of the ground transportation network. Thus a road that is also the boundary of a town would have a CFCC describing its road characteristics not its boundary characteristics. The CFCC, as used in the TIGER/Line(TM) files, is a three-character code; the first character is a letter describing the feature class; the second character is a number describing the major category; and the third character is a number describing the minor category.
Feature Classes Feature Class A, Road
Definitions Applicable to Road
The definition of a divided highway has been the source of considerable discussion. Earlier specifications have defined a "divided" road as having "... opposing traffic lanes that are physically separated by a median strip no less than 70 feet wide in former GBF/DIME areas or no less than 200 feet wide in non- GBF/DIME areas." This definition caused confusion in the proper coding of interstates having narrow medians. To clarify the situation, the Census Bureau now uses the term "divided" to refer to a road with opposing traffic lanes separated by any size median, and "separated" to refer to lanes that are represented in the Census TIGER data base as two distinct complete chains. Earlier operations may have depicted widely separated lanes as a single line in the data base or created separate lines when the median was small, depending on the available source used during the update.
The term "rail line in center" indicates that a rail line shares the road right-of-way. The rail line may follow the center of the road or be directly next to the road, representation is dependent upon the available source used during the update. The rail line can represent a railroad, a street car line, or other carline.
Road With Major Category Unknown:
Source materials do not allow determination of the major road category. These codes should not, under most circumstances, be used since the source materials usually provide enough information to determine the major category.
CFCC Description
A00 Road, major and minor categories unknown A01 Road, unseparated A02 Road, unseparated, in tunnel A03 Road, unseparated, underpassing A04 Road, unseparated, with rail line in center A05 Road, separated A06 Road, separated, in tunnel A07 Road, separated, underpassing A08 Road, separated, with rail line in center
Primary Highway with Limited Access:
This road is distinguished by the presence of interchanges, access to the highway is by way of ramps, and there are multiple lanes of traffic. A road in this category has the opposing traffic lanes "divided" by a median strip. Interstate highways and some toll highways are in this major category. The TIGER/Line(TM) files may depict the opposing lanes of a road in this category as two distinct lines; in this case the road is called "separated."
CFCC Description
A10 Primary road with limited access or interstate highway, major category used alone when the minor category could not be determined A11 Primary road with limited access or interstate highway, unseparated A12 Primary road with limited access or interstate highway, unseparated, in tunnel A13 Primary road with limited access or interstate highway, unseparated, underpassing A14 Primary road with limited access or interstate highway, unseparated, with rail line in center A15 Primary road with limited access or interstate highway, separated A16 Primary road with limited access or interstate highway, separated, in tunnel A17 Primary road with limited access or interstate highway, separated, underpassing A18 Primary road with limited access or interstate highway, separated, with rail line in center
Primary Road without Limited Access:
A road in this major category must be hard surface, that is, concrete or asphalt, and may be divided or undivided and have multi-lane or single lane characteristics. This road has intersections with other roads, usually controlled with traffic lights. This major category includes nationally and regionally important highways that do not have limited access as required by major category A1. Thus, major category A2 includes most U.S. and State highways and some county highways that connect cities and larger towns.
CFCC Description
A20 Primary road without limited access, U.S. and State highway, major category used alone when the minor category could not be determined A21 Primary road without limited access, U.S. and State highways, unseparated A22 Primary road without limited access, U.S. and State highways, unseparated, in tunnel A23 Primary road without limited access, U.S. and State highways, unseparated, underpassing A24 Primary road without limited access, U.S. and State highways, unseparated, with rail line in center A25 Primary road without limited access, U.S. and State highways, separated A26 Primary road without limited access, U.S. and State highways, separated, in tunnel A27 Primary road without limited access, U.S. and State highways, separated, underpassing A28 Primary road without limited access, U.S. and State highways, separated, with rail line in center
Secondary and Connecting Road:
A road in this major category must be hard surface, that is, concrete or asphalt, usually undivided with single lane characteristics. This road has intersections with other roads, controlled with traffic lights and stop signs. This major category includes State and county highways that connect smaller towns, subdivisions, and neighborhoods, thus the road is smaller than a road in major category A2. This road, usually with a local name along with a route number, intersects with many other roads and driveways.
CFCC Description
A30 Secondary and connecting road, State and county highways, major category used alone when the minor category could not be determined A31 Secondary and connecting road, State and county highways, unseparated A32 Secondary and connecting road, State and county highways, unseparated, in tunnel A33 Secondary and connecting road, State and county highways, unseparated, underpassing A34 Secondary and connecting road, State and county highways, unseparated, with rail line in center A35 Secondary and connecting road, State and county highways, separated A36 Secondary and connecting road, State and county highways, separated, in tunnel A37 Secondary and connecting road, State and county highways, separated, underpassing A38 Secondary and connecting road, State and county highways, separated, with rail line in center
Local, Neighborhood, and Rural Road:
A road in this major category is used for local traffic, usually with a single lane of traffic in each direction. In an urban area, this is a neighborhood road and street that is not a thoroughfare belonging in categories A2 or A3. In a rural area, this is a short distance road connecting the smallest towns; the road may or may not have a State or county route number. In addition, this major category includes scenic park roads, unimproved or unpaved roads, and industrial roads. Most roads in the Nation are classified in this major category.
CFCC Description
A40 Local, neighborhood, and rural road, city street, major category used alone when the minor category could not be determined A41 Local, neighborhood, and rural road, city street, unseparated A42 Local, neighborhood, and rural road, city street, unseparated, in tunnel A43 Local, neighborhood, and rural road, city street, unseparated, underpassing A44 Local, neighborhood, and rural road, city street, unseparated, with rail line in center A45 Local, neighborhood, and rural road, city street, separated A46 Local, neighborhood, and rural road, city street, separated, in tunnel A47 Local, neighborhood, and rural road, city street, separated, underpassing A48 Local, neighborhood, and rural road, city street, separated, with rail line in center
Vehicular Trail:
A road in this major category is usable only by four-wheel drive vehicles and is usually a one lane, dirt trail. The road is found almost exclusively in a very rural area, sometimes the road is called a fire road or logging road and may include an abandoned railroad grade where the tracks have been removed. Minor, unpaved roads usable by ordinary cars and trucks belong in major category A4.
CFCC Description
A50 Vehicular trail, road passable only by four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle, major category used alone when the minor category could not be determined A51 Vehicular trail, road passable only by 4WD vehicle, unseparated A52 Vehicular trail, road passable only by 4WD vehicle, unseparated, in tunnel A53 Vehicular trail, road passable only by 4WD vehicle, unseparated, underpassing
Road with Special Characteristics:
A road, portion of a road, intersection of a road, or the ends of a road that are parts of the vehicular highway system that have separately identifiable characteristics.
CFCC Description
A60 Road with characteristic unspecified, major category used alone when the minor category could not be determined A61 Cul-de-sac, the closed end of a road that forms a loop or turn around (the node symbol that appears on some census maps is not included in the TIGER/Line(TM) files) A62 Traffic circle, the portion of a road or intersection of roads that form a roundabout (the node symbol that appears on some census maps is not included in the TIGER/Line(TM) files) A63 Access ramp, the portion of a road that forms a cloverleaf or limited access interchange (the node symbol that appears on some census maps is not included in the TIGER/Line(TM) files) A64 Service drive, the road or portion of a road that provides access to businesses, facilities, and rest areas along a limited access highway, this frontage road may intersect other roads and be named A65 Ferry crossing, the portion of a road over water that consists of ships, carrying automobiles, connecting roads on opposite shores
Road as Other Thoroughfare:
A road that is not part of the vehicular highway system. This road is used by bicyclists or pedestrians and is typically inaccessible to mainstream motor traffic except by service vehicles. A stair and walkway may follow a road right-of-way and be named as if it were a road. This major category includes foot and hiking trails located on park and forest land.
CFCC Description
A70 Other thoroughfare, major category used alone when the minor category could not be determined A71 Walkway, nearly level road for pedestrians, usually unnamed A72 Stairway, stepped road for pedestrians, usually unnamed A73 Alley, road for service vehicles, usually unnamed, located at the rear of buildings and property
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Subject Data Layers
For all data contained herein, (NJDEP) makes no representations of any kind, including, but not limited to, the warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use, nor are any such warranties to be implied with respect to the digital data layers furnished hereunder. NJDEP assumes no responsibility to maintain them in any manner or form.
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* Complete chains must begin and end at nodes. * Complete chains must connect to each other at nodes. * Complete chains do not extend through nodes. * Left and right GT-polygons are defined for each complete chain element and are consistent throughout the extract process. * The chains representing the limits of the files are free of gaps.
The Census Bureau performed automated tests to ensure logical consistency and limits of files. All polygons are tested for closure. The Census Bureau uses its internally developed Geographic Update System to enhance and modify spatial and attribute data in the Census TIGER data base. Standard geographic codes, such as FIPS codes for states, counties, municipalities, and places, are used when encoding spatial entities. The Census Bureau performed spatial data tests for logical consistency of the codes during the compilation of the original Census TIGER data base files. Most of the Codes themselves were provided to the Census Bureau by the USGS, the agency responsible for maintaining FIPS 55. Feature attribute information has been examined but has not been fully tested for consistency.
The information present in these files is provided for the purposes of statistical analysis and census operations only. Coordinates in the TIGER/Line files have six implied decimal places, but the positional accuracy of these coordinates is not as great as the six decimal places suggest. The positional accuracy varies with the source materials used, but generally the information is no better than the established national map Accuracy standards for 1:100,000-scale maps from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS); thus it is NOT suitable for high-precision measurement applications such as engineering problems, property transfers, or other uses that might require highly accurate measurements of the earth's surface. The USGS 1:100,000-scale maps met national map accuracy standards and use coordinates defined by the North American Datum, 1983. For the contiguous 48 States, the cartographic fidelity of most of the Census 2000 TIGER/Line files, in areas outside the 1980 census Geographic Base File/Dual Independent Map Encoding (GBF/DIME) file coverage and selected other large metropolitan areas, compare favorably with the USGS 1:100,000-scale maps.
The Census Bureau cannot specify the accuracy of features inside of what was the 1980 GBF/DIME-File coverage or selected metropolitan areas. The Census Bureau added updates to the TIGER/Line files that enumerators annotated on maps sheets prepared from the Census TIGER data base as they attempted to traverse every street feature shown on the Census 2000 map sheets; the Census Bureau also made other corrections from updated map sheets supplied by local participants for Census Bureau programs. The locational accuracy of these updates is of unknown quality. In addition to the Federal, State, and local sources, portions of the files may contain information obtained in part from maps and other materials prepared by private companies. Despite the fact the TIGER/Line data positional accuracy is not as high as the coordinate values imply, the six-decimal place precision is useful when producing maps. The precision allows features that are next to each other on the ground to be placed in the correct position, on the map, relative to each other, without overlap.
In order for others to use the information in the Census TIGER data base in a GIS or for other geographic applications, the Census Bureau releases periodic extracts of selected information from the Census TIGER data base, organized as topologically consistent networks. Software (TIGER DB routines) written by the Geography Division allows for efficient access to Census TIGER system data. TIGER/Line files are extracted from the Census TIGER data base by county or statistical equivalent area. Census TIGER data for a given county or statistical equivalent area is then distributed among 17 fixed length record ASCII files, each one containing attributes for either line, polygon, or landmark geographic data types. The Census Bureau has released various versions of the TIGER/Line files since 1988, with each version having more updates (feature and feature names, address ranges and ZIP Codes, coordinate updates, revised field definitions, etc.) than the previous version.