# OS Open Roads Documentation

OS Open Roads is a high-level digital representation of Great Britain's road network. The links represent an approximate central alignment of the road carriageway and include roads classified by the National or Local Highway authority (for example, A roads) and unclassified roads, which together make up Great Britain’s road network.

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**This product is updated every six months in April and October.**
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<figure><img src="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2Fog5cDiWw2ZMf0uXy0Ei4%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=8728b34e-8cef-46ac-aa5a-8a25cc473e0a" alt="OS Open Roads mapping data showing a view of the road network in Great Britainork"><figcaption><p>OS Open roads map data</p></figcaption></figure>

OS Open Roads is a generalised product which is automatically simplified from Ordnance Survey large-scale data. Generalisation is the process of reducing the scale and complexity of the data whilst maintaining the important elements and characteristics of the features. The appropriate product scale is 1:25 000, with a recommended viewing scale range of 1:15 000 to 1:30 000.

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{% tab title="Benefits" %}
**Capture answers to road questions**

How many miles of roads are there in the country? What and where’s within 10miles of this location? OS Open Roads lets you answer questions like these.

**Work with definitive road information**

By underpinning your reporting tool with OS Open Roads, you’ll give highways teams a head-start on fixing issues like potholes.
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{% tab title="Use Cases" %}
The OS Open Roads product may be used for applications such as, but not limited to:

* Assigning information to the road network for both personal and business use.
* High-level analytical queries, for example, how many kilometres of road there are in Great Britain, an individual country or a region and simple drive time analysis, for example, what is within a 25-minute drive of any given location?
* Identifying community problems and reporting back to a relevant authority.

Detailed turn-by-turn routing is not supported in OS Open Roads; this requires the additional detail and complexity available in[ OS MasterMap Highways Network](https://docs.os.uk/os-downloads/networks/os-mastermap-highways-network-fundamentals).

Definitive details of the responsibility for road maintenance are not supported in OS Open Roads; this requires the additional detail held in [OS MasterMap Highways Network – Routing and Asset Management Information (RAMI)](https://docs.os.uk/os-downloads/products/transport-network-portfolio/os-mastermap-highways-network-routing-and-asset-management-information).
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{% tab title="Summary" %}

* **Access**: Download
* **Category**: Networks
* **Data theme**: Transport
* **Data structure**: Vector – Topologically structured link and node network
* **Coverage**: Great Britain
* **Scale**: 1:15 000 to 1:30 000
* **Format**: ESRI Shapefile, GeoPackage, GML 3.2.1, vector tiles
* **Ordering area**: All of Great Britain
* **Publication months:** April, October
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{% tab title="Additional Information" %}
**OS Open Roads coverage**

OS Open Roads is available to download as a national set. The product has been split into 100km² so you can work with the specific area you require easily.

**In-vehicle navigation requirements**

OS Open Roads is not suitable for use for in-vehicle navigation systems. For the route restriction information that your users would need (such as one-way systems, width and height restrictions), we recommend using the [OS MasterMap Highways Network – Routing and Asset Management Information (RAMI)](https://docs.os.uk/os-downloads/products/transport-network-portfolio/os-mastermap-highways-network-routing-and-asset-management-information) product instead.
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## How to get this product

Access to this OS OpenData product is free through the [OS Data Hub](https://osdatahub.os.uk/data/downloads/open/OpenRoads).

## Sample Data

### Visualise OS Open Roads sample data online

This product is available to try out free online using one of our three sets of sample data (Exeter, Newport and Inverness) through the OS MasterMap Product Viewer:

<table data-view="cards" data-full-width="false"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden></th><th data-hidden data-card-cover data-type="image">Cover image</th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>OS MasterMap Product Viewer</strong></td><td>Interactive demonstrator of OS MasterMap Generation data</td><td></td><td data-object-fit="cover" data-alt="Example image showing OS VectorMap Local product data over an urban area."><a href="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2Fuld7V42IKrB8ovpC1JXB%2FVectorMap-Local-1.png?alt=media&#x26;token=cb3e8ae9-d669-4bc9-b7a7-5f479d780447">VectorMap-Local-1.png</a></td><td><a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/20981dabcb14402687dccb437a4a78fb/">https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/20981dabcb14402687dccb437a4a78fb/</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

## What's next?

To access additional documentation and resources relating to this product, please refer to the following:

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-cover data-type="image">Cover image</th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><h3>Overview</h3></td><td>The overview introduces OS Open Roads and gives context for all users – highlighting key features, providing examples of uses, and listing details such as file sizes, supply formats, etc.</td><td></td><td data-object-fit="cover" data-alt="Example image showing OS Open Roads product data over a map on Great Britain."><a href="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2FByyJJgXkSa9DYLsRmCJW%2FOpen-Roads-5.png?alt=media&#x26;token=bbef6ef6-9a02-4f2e-ad9b-d46b3ff00746">Open-Roads-5.png</a></td><td><a href="os-open-roads/os-open-roads-overview">os-open-roads-overview</a></td></tr><tr><td><h3>Technical Specification</h3></td><td>The technical specification provides detailed technical information about OS Open Roads. It is targeted at technical users and software developers.</td><td></td><td data-object-fit="cover" data-alt="Example image showing OS Open Roads product data over a background map."><a href="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2FMeX2kVsL7Il87a2DHIoc%2FOpen-Roads-4.png?alt=media&#x26;token=4143a42b-092e-47db-8028-61503838894b">Open-Roads-4.png</a></td><td><a href="os-open-roads/os-open-roads-technical-specification">os-open-roads-technical-specification</a></td></tr><tr><td><h3>Downloads</h3></td><td>The downloads page provides links and resources to support the application of OS Open Roads within your environment.</td><td></td><td data-object-fit="cover" data-alt="Example image showing OS Open Roads product data over a background map."><a href="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2FEBTOuitFm3Ocl9B7rEbU%2FOpen-Roads-1.png?alt=media&#x26;token=797109ea-89a2-4a37-907e-5d7657369fdf">Open-Roads-1.png</a></td><td><a href="os-open-roads/os-open-roads-downloads">os-open-roads-downloads</a></td></tr><tr><td><h3>Ordnance Survey Website</h3></td><td>View OS Open Roads product information and find out how to get this product on the OS website.</td><td></td><td></td><td><a href="https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/products/os-open-roads">https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/products/os-open-roads</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

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New users should start with the Overview to gain high-level insight into the product. The Technical Specification contains detailed technical insights.
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