Road Improvements activity classes (including Regional Improvements)

Archive - this information is for reference only and no longer maintained.

Introduction

This section sets out the guidance on the activity classes for road improvements.

Government expectations

The government has set out its expectations of the land transport system in the 2015 Government Policy Statement on Land Transport(external link) (GPS).

The government expects these short to medium term results from National Land Transport Fund investment in State highway, Regional and/or Local road improvements (unless otherwise stated the results apply to all three activity classes):

deliver major State highway projects on time and to budget (State highway improvements)
reduced travel times in key corridors leading to our major metropolitan areas and logistics centres (State highway and Local road improvements)
increased productivity where there are constraints on main routes within our major metropolitan areas (State highway and Local road improvements)
reduced travel times and vehicle operating costs on key regional freight and tourist routes (Regional improvements)
increased freight vehicle productivity across the network
progress the Safer Journeys Action Plan
improve the transparency of road safety related investment
reduce the risks of disruption at the most critical points and deal with disruption efficiently
improve the transparency of investment in mitigating environmental effects, including climate change.

And expects these longer term results (unless otherwise stated the results apply to all three activity classes):

support economic growth and productivity through the provision of better access to markets, employment and business areas (State highway and Local road improvements)
support economic growth of regional New Zealand through the provision of better access to markets (Regional improvements)
improved network resilience at the most critical points
reduction in deaths and serious injuries
mitigation of adverse environmental effects.

Activity classes

There are four activity classes as described below.

Activity class 12: Local road improvements – applies to Approved Organisations
Activity class 13: State highway improvements – applies to the Transport Agency(state highways)
Activity class 20: Regional Improvements – applies to Approved Organisations and the Transport Agency(state highways)
Activity class 31: Crown appropriations for the Accelerated Regional State Highway Programme (ARSHP) - applies only to the Transport Agency(state highways). Activities funded through this activity class are not subject to assessment and prioritisation under the Transport Agency's Investment Assessment Framework, but are subject to any requirements set by the Minister of Transport.

Qualifying for NLTP consideration

Any public road improvement activity described in the work categories in this section may qualify for consideration for inclusion in the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).

Regional Improvements activity class

Regional Improvements have been added as a new activity class in the 2015-25 Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS), for improvements to roads in regional New Zealand. The GPS defines the activity class and relevant criteria.

The Transport Agency has not adopted a different set of work category or assessment criteria to give effect to this activity class. This means that all road improvement activities will use the same work categories and Investment Assessment Framework (IAF), and will be optimised together. The reason for this approach is to ensure that no application is disadvantaged, or needs to be duplicated, in order to be considered for investment from the NLTP.

Allocation of activities to the Regional Improvements activity class will be made by the Transport Agency on the basis of eligibility under the GPS and prioritisation through the IAF. The principles that apply to the activity class are that it:

is restricted to road improvements work categories,
is a nationally contestable fund, rather than a set distribution across regions or districts,
allows a regional focus on national priorities of freight efficiency, resilience (including lifelines), road safety and tourism travel,
is restricted to eligible areas outside the major metropolitan areas - areas not eligible for funding as Regional Improvements are the major metropolitan areas set out in the 2015 GPS Appendix D, being the following main urban areas as defined by Statistics New Zealand in Classification-Urban Area 2013 v2.0. and shown in the map below:

- Northern Auckland Zone

- Western Auckland Zone

- Central Auckland Zone

- Southern Auckland Zone

- Hamilton Zone

- Tauranga

- Porirua Zone

- Upper Hutt Zone

- Lower Hutt Zone

- Wellington Zone

- Christchurch

- Dunedin

uses the road improvements activity classes investment assessment criteria

Regional Improvements will represent the highest priority, eligible, regional activities that are not prioritised for national investment.

Map of areas excluded from Regional Improvements funding

Funding assistance for local road improvement projects that benefit state highways

Local road improvement projects may, at the Transport Agency’s discretion, be partly or fully funded as effective state highway improvement projects from Activity class 12 or 13 or 20.

The following criteria apply:

greater state highway benefits can be purchased per dollar when compared with upgrading the state highway
the Transport Agency and the local authority have agreed that the project is the best investment option
the Transport Agency and the local authority have agreed on attribution of benefits and sharing of construction costs
the project is unlikely to proceed if left to the local authority (i.e. funded at the normal funding assistance rate).

Normal or targeted enhanced funding assistance rates, as the case may be, shall apply to each party’s share of the cost of improvements. Arrangements for road maintenance may differ on a case-by-case basis.

Work categories

Most work categories described in this section are common to all four activity classes.

The guidance included in this section is:

Work category 321: – New traffic management facilities
Work category 322: – Replacement of bridges and structures
Work category 323: – New roads
Work category 324: – Road improvements
Work category 325: – Seal extension
Work category 331: – Property purchase – state highways
Work category 332: – Property purchase – local roads
Work category 333: – Advance property purchase
Work category 341: – Minor improvements
Work category 357: - Resilience improvements

Further road related funding policy guidance

Further guidance on the following topics can be found by following the links. The policy within these is to be applied to applications for funding assistance as relevant.

Development of road improvement activities

Road improvement activities (other than Minor improvements) are developed using the 'Improvement activity' module in Transport Investment Online.

General requirements for development of Road improvement activities are set out in the table below.

(See Development of minor improvements programmes for guidance on roading minor improvements.)

Sources of funding

Approved Organisations, the Transport Agency(state highways) and Regional Transport Committees may propose the sources of funding for activities they include in their transport programmes and RLTPs, based on the criteria that apply to the sources.

The Transport Agency will make the final decision as to which source of funding will be applied to assist the activity when it comes forward for funding approval. In some cases the decision may be applied retrospectively to ensure compliance with Transport Agency policy, e.g. R funds policy

Safety audits

The Transport Agency requires that a safety audit procedure must be applied to the development of any improvement or renewal activity that involves vehicular traffic, and/or walking and/or cycling, proposed for funding assistance from the National Land Transport Fund. It does not apply to auditing of the existing network or specialist applications, such as traffic control at roadwork sites.

Safety audits must be undertaken at key stages of a project’s development (see section 6 of the Road safety audit procedures for projects(external link) (Transport Agency May 2013) for when to undertake a safety audit). The latest audit report and the project manager’s response to issues are to be attached to any Transport Investment Online funding application.

If the project manager considers there is justification for not conducting a safety audit at a particular stage, then they must complete an exemption declaration for that stage, keep it on file for audit purposes and attach it to any Transport Investment Online funding application.

Road safety audit procedures for projects (external link)(Transport Agency May 2013) provides guidance in relation to safety audits. It includes a sample completed audit form a sample completed exemption form and checklists.

Cost estimation

Approved Organisations and the Transport Agency(state highways) are expected to provide robust cost estimates for their activities prepared by competent people. The cost estimation process should follow the principles set out in the Transport Agency’s Cost Estimation Manual, SM014(external link).

Where risk analysis is required to provide 5^th and 95^th percentile cost estimates, the results are expected to reflect the project phase and type of cost estimate, e.g. a feasibility estimate would be expected to have a much wider range around the expected estimate than a construction estimate.

The cost estimate is to be uploaded to the Transport Investment Online funding application as supporting information.

Peer review

Transport Agency requirements and guidance on peer review of improvement activities are available at this link.

The peer review shall be uploaded to the Transport Investment Online funding application.

Parallel cost estimate

The Transport Agency requires that all improvement projects over $20 million estimated construction cost will be subject to a parallel cost estimation process as set out in the Transport Agency’s Cost Estimation Manual, SM014(external link).

A summary of the parallel cost estimate and reconciliation is to be attached to the Transport Investment Online funding application as supporting information.

Risk assessment, analysis and management

Approved Organisations and the Transport Agency(state highways) are expected to apply risk assessment and management processes to the development and implementation/construction of their activities that are appropriate to the scale and risk involved, following the guidance and applying the procedures set out in the Transport Agency's Risk Management Process Manual(external link).

The risk register and management plan(s) for projects under development are to be attached to the Transport Investment Online funding application as supporting information.

Consultation and engagement

Programme consultation is managed by the RTC when it consults on the RLTP. However, the need to take into account the views of affected communities under the LTMA, to give early and full consideration of alternative options, implies a need to consult or engage at the activity level in the course of activity development. This may also be required under other legislation, e.g. Resource Management Act.

Transport Agency decision conditions

The Transport Agency may apply conditions to any support, endorsement or approval that it may provide for a strategy, package, programme or activity. These will generally fall into one of two categories:

Condition precedent – means that the condition must be fulfilled before the support, endorsement or approval is put into effect. For a funding approval this will mean that no funding will be released until the condition is met.
Condition subsequent – means that the condition needs to be fulfilled by a specified time or event, but the decision can be put into effect. For a funding approval this will mean that funding can be released before the condition is met. Often, conditions subsequent will need to be fulfilled before the next funding application for an activity.

Conditions are recorded and managed through Transport Investment Online.

Assessment of road improvement activities

Road improvement activities (other than Minor improvements) proposed for funding from the National Land Transport Fund are assessed under the Transport Agency's Assessment Framework. See Assessment of Road improvements.

(See Assessment of Minor Improvement Programmes for guidance on roading minor improvements.)

Development of road improvement activities through TIO

Guidance on the requirements for developing road improvement activities through Transport Investment Online is provided.

Online services