Travel Mapping Manual: Highway Data (.wpt) Files

Each route in TM is represented by a highway data file, which we often refer to as a "waypoint file". These files have a .wpt extension.

.wpt Files
.wpt Filenames
.wpt Data Format

🔗 One .wpt file is needed for each highway in each region. Highways crossing into multiple subdivisions of a subdivided country (e.g., states in the USA), or crossing into multiple countries (e.g., UNECE International 'E' Roads in Europe) must be chopped at borders into separate files for each region.
🔗 Concurrencies within which not all concurrent routes are signed
This section concerns typically well signed routes that whose numbers are signed with trailblazers or are not signed at all within a section of highway concurrent with other routes. For example, France's A4 and A26 merge and split, but along the merged section, A4 is signed and A26 is not, but both routes are signed beyond the concurrent section. Should the not-signed routes be chopped into its signed pieces or made continuous and concurrent with the signed route?

We have 4 cases that are treated differently. The descriptions refer to concurrencies of two routes, but the ideas generalize to concurrencies of more routes.

🔗 Unsigned but implied multiplexes: Treat as continuous routes with one .wpt file.
This is the case where only one route is signed where another one route merges onto the same road. Usually the unsigned route splits off at another point, then it's signed beyond the concurrency. Continuity is still implied by the way the routes are numbered even if the signs are simplified to show only one route, so we treat each route as a continuous one.

Examples:
- USA MD 23/MD 165:
  MD 23 was continuously signed before a relocation that created the duplex. In the current state, MD 23 is signed as "TO MD 23" at its approaches to the duplex, and MD 165 is signed continuously. MD 23 should continue to be treated as continuous.
- ENG A414:
  Follow the length of A414 and you'll see several concurrent routes, sometimes shown as A414 and sometimes as the other route, at least as Google Maps shows it. A system of surface highways with a bypass here and there is bound to be full of concurrencies, and so chopping half the routes into pieces around the concurrent parts would create a zillion "extra" files for short pieces of routes.
- FRA A4/A26:
  The two freeways merge and split. The pieces of A26 could have been given different numbers, but instead they were given the same number, as if it should be one long route rather than two.

🔗 Bypassed, segmented routes: Discontinuous routes with more than one .wpt file.
Here some pieces of an old route were bypassed by a new route, but other pieces of the old route were upgraded into the new route. This makes a continuously signed new route with pieces of the old route beginning and ending at various places along the new route.

Examples:
- Bannered highways, like Alternate and Business routes, in the US: Many US highways, for example, have many auxiliary routes with the same designation, like US 40 having many US 40 Business routes. The auxiliary routes are treated discontinuously, rather than having one long, continuous US 40 Business concurrent along sections of US 40.
  US 40/MD 144:
  There are several pieces of MD 144 along the old alignment of US 40. The pieces act like Business or Alternate routes and are never signed to suggest continuity.

🔗 Alternating designation: Discontinuous routes with more than one .wpt file.
A road changes designations back and forth without either route splitting off on its own.

Example:
- Ireland's M/N routes come to mind here. Part of N8 was upgraded to M8, but there is no alternative N8 along that section. However, N8 leads straight into M8 at each end of M8. So if the highway goes N8-M8-N8, we'll have three files for these three routes.

🔗 Like designations that aren't concurrent: Discontinuous routes with more than one .wpt file.
By whatever reasoning, two unrelated, distant highways were given the same designation.

Example:
- PA 97 (in NW Pennsylvania) and PA 97 (in southern PA), both part of the state highway system in Pennsylvania.

🔗 Filenames are entirely lowercase and have a .wpt extension.
🔗 Be sure you can see file extensions in your operating system. Windows hides known file extensions by default, so if you see a ".wpt" extension, the file might actually have something else appended, such as ".wpt.txt". This is no good. In Windows Explorer, you can disable the "Hide extensions for known file types" option in Tools menu > Folder Options > View tab.
🔗 region + . + route ( + banner + abbreviation ) + .wpt is the format for the filename.
- 🔗 Region is the region code without any hyphens:
- 🔗 The route is the name of the highway (number padded with zeroes as needed), ignoring any banners or qualifiers. No spaces! us034 for US 34, oh017 for OH 17, pa066 for Business PA 66, a007 for French Autoroute A7. Skip hyphens and slashes.
- 🔗 The banner (if needed) is a 3-letter banner abbreviation (bus, alt, spr, trk etc.). lp for Loop is two letters. No more than six characters (for double-bannered routes) are allowed.
- 🔗 The abbreviation is a 3-letter abbreviation for auxiliary highways or for most piecemeal highways if needed to distinguish between otherwise identically named routes of the same highway in the same region. pit for Truck US 19 (Pittsburgh).
- 🔗 Examples:
  - aut.a003.wpt = Austria A3.
  - pa.pa042trkeag.wpt = Pennsylvania PA 42 Truck (Eagles Mere).
  - grc.a005.wpt = Greece A5 (main piece).
  - grc.a005art.wpt = Greece A5 Arta section.

🔗 The format is simple. Each line as two fields separated by a space.
1. Waypoint label. This identifies the waypoint.
2. OpenStreetMap URL that includes coordinates.

🔗 For example, the first few lines of PA US 11 (pa.us011.wpt) are:

MD/PA http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=39.721015&lon=-77.724087
PA163 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=39.721396&lon=-77.724141
I-81(3) http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=39.755966&lon=-77.726984
PA16 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=39.791111&lon=-77.731190
PA914 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=39.865200&lon=-77.698738
SocIslRd http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=39.873043&lon=-77.687918
GuiSprRd http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=39.897681&lon=-77.675327
OrcDr http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=39.914143&lon=-77.668498
PA316 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=39.927337&lon=-77.662439
US30 http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=39.936539&lon=-77.660417

🔗 No blank or comment lines. The file may end with a final return character.