A Silver color metal and enamel device 1 5/32 inches (2.94 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Gules, a Viking ship Argent.
In the scarlet and white (silver) of the Engineer Corps, the Viking ship is symbolic of the bridge-building activities of the organization, such ships having first been used to bridge the oceans in the adventurous, swash-buckling days of Eric the Red, the first of the Vikings to cross the waters.
The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 86th Engineer Battalion on 15 September 1942. It was redesignated for the 86th Engineer Battalion (Construction) on 5 August 1954.