We strive for excellence in everything we do, and we’re delighted to have won national and international awards to acknowledge our achievements.
This page details some of the recent awards we have won, alongside our partners, by a number of industry and professional bodies for innovation and best practice.
The New Zealand Road Transport Hall of Fame aims to showcase and honour people who have had a positive impact on the New Zealand land transport system.
On 27 September 2024, inductees came from across the industry to be recognised for their dedication to bettering the road transport industry and safety of road users in New Zealand. Two of our own were awarded at this year’s ceremony:
The Driver Licensing Improvement Programme (DLIP) has won 2 awards at the SOSA Te Hāpai Hapori | Spirit of Service Awards 2024:
This is great recognition of our people who have been working tirelessly to improve access to driver licensing for hard-to-reach communities.
DLIP has been a collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand Police, Te Puni Kōkiri, Ministry of Transport and Accident Compensation Corporation, along with the Driving Change Network.
Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest infrastructure engagement undertaking has been recognised by the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2).
Te Tupu Ngātahi (Supporting Growth) won the 2024 Core Values Award for Planning, announced on 3 September at the Australasian conference in Sydney.
It’s anticipated the population of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland will grow by 1 million people by 2050. Te Tupu Ngātahi alliance undertook a complex programme where the team engaged with almost 20,000 partners, stakeholders, landowners and residents right across the region about the future strategic transport network required to accommodate this growth.
The team also worked out how to engage with a unique group of stakeholders – those who will use the future transport networks but who haven’t been born yet or haven’t moved to the region yet.
Te Tupu Ngātahi is a programme alliance comprising of Auckland Transport, NZTA, AECOM, Beca, Bell Gully and Buddle Findlay.
The Marlborough Roads Joint Venture (MRJV) team has recently taken out the award for collaboration at the 2024 New Zealand Workplace Health & Safety Awards.
The award recognises the MRJV management of works around the region’s busy grape harvest season alongside the goal of reducing grape spills on the network. Grapes make for a slippery road surface and the cost of a clean-up can be expensive, so it was fantastic to see a 50% reduction in reported spills.
This is great recognition of the collaboration that has occurred between MRJV, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, the New Zealand Police, Wine Marlborough, Ia Ara Aotearoa – Transporting New Zealand, Marlborough Lines, and New Zealand Wine.
Our approach to working together includes annual pre- and post-harvest forums; a QR-code-accessed, live GIS system of road works and spill events; and operational improvement initiatives across all of the collaborating organisations.
The NZILA is the internationally recognised body for qualified landscape architects in New Zealand. They host an awards ceremony every 2 years to celebrate the best mahi across the profession.
This year, the following NZTA projects were recognised across 3 categories:
Sam Bourne, NZTA Urban Design and Landscape Team Lead, says, ‘In our landscape and urban design practice we strive to support the current projects and direction, enabling outcomes using the materials and resources we have, and supporting the sector to deliver a transport system as efficiently as possible.’
‘It’s wonderful to see the recognition for NZTA projects large and small at this year’s awards, and I want to thank everyone who has helped shape these projects, for their hard work and effort.’
Kate Poole, Health, Safety and Wellbeing Partner, has won a Safeguard Award in the Emerging Practitioner category.
Kate started her professional life in the Royal New Zealand Airforce (RNZAF) as a Logistics Specialist, which sparked her interest in health and safety. She was appointed the Unit Safety & Health Coordinator for the 6 Squadron Logistics Unit, where she was responsible for overseeing the physical and mental wellbeing of her team.
Kate’s current Health Safety and Wellbeing (HSW) Partner role is to provide generalist HSW support, coaching and advice to Te Toki - Transport Services.
She’s responsible for driving safety improvements and risk-based safety interventions across our workplaces, project and operations sites.
North Island projects win prestigious Āpōpō Awards
Wednesday 22 May was a big night of celebration for NZTA North Island projects at the recent Āpōpō Asset Management Excellence Awards held in Wellington. Three projects being recognised and a scholarship awarded:
On Friday 22 March, the Heavy Vehicle Training Design and Development project won the Engineering New Zealand President’s Fulton-Downer Gold Medal award.
The award, which recognises exceptional and distinguished service to engineering, was accepted by six Heavy Vehicle Specialist Certifiers (HVSCs) representing the project team.
Almost 200,000 heavy vehicles transport more than 90% of New Zealand’s goods and rely on heavy vehicle engineers to ensure that critical vehicle components meet required standards.
In partnership with NZTA, Engineering New Zealand and the Heavy Vehicle Engineers Group, a committed group of engineers has developed a highly specialised training to support compliant heavy vehicle certification.
The result is a world-first training package for HVSCs made up of eight Fundamental modules and two programmes targeting Towing Connection and Load Anchorage certifications.
The Ngā Hau Māngere bridge project replaced the Old Māngere Bridge with a new and improved walking and cycling connection. At this year’s Project Management Awards, it won in the following 2 categories:
The Milford Road Alliance (MRA), made up of 30 mostly Te Anau-based people from NZTA and Downer NZ, have won the Programme Management award at the International Road Federation (IRF) Road Achievement Awards.
Formed in 2016, the MRA is responsible for maintaining the only road in and out of Milford Sound Piopiotahi, a destination accessed by close to a million tourists each year.
The alliance plays a key role in ensuring safe access on SH94 for commercial fishing and visitors to Fiordland. In addition to avalanche and rockfall prevention, it manages numerous complexities including the historic, one-lane Homer Tunnel.
Dedication to the safety and wellbeing of those who traverse the Milford Road is a key priority and the alliance has an outstanding safety record.
Two NZTA projects picked up 3 awards at the Auckland 2023 CCNZ Construction Awards in November 2023.
These include:
The Auckland CCNZ Hynds Construction Awards 2023 are designed to showcase excellence and reward the accomplishments of organisations and project teams that have achieved regional acclaim. Entering these awards is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements made within the previous year and to highlight the very best of the Auckland civil contracting industry (from Warkworth to Pōkeno).
The Takitimu North Link Project (funded by HEB Construction and delivered in partnership with NIWA’s Forecasting Services team since mid-2022) was recently recognised at the 2023 International Erosion Control Association (IECA) - Australasia & Stormwater Queensland Conference awards in Australia.
The team won the award for Innovation and Education to the Erosion and Sediment Control Industry. The study hopes to achieve more reliable weather forecasting and will allow construction teams to make more informed decisions related to weather impacts on the programme.
The project was also presented a Highly Commended Award for Environmental Excellence for the outstanding environmental enabling works undertaken in the Wairoa Valley, a complex area of the site. The Wairoa Valley is 1.6km wide and has a large mountain-fed catchment area prone to flooding during large rain events. With more than 600,000 cubic metres of fill material to be placed across the river floodplain, multiple archaeological sites, high groundwater tables, poor ground conditions, narrow construction boundaries and 2km of stream diversions, the environmental team have been innovative with environmental controls. These were put to the test in 2022/23 with the wettest construction season on record.
On 8 November 2023, 20 public servants were awarded the Public Service Commissioner's Commendation for Excellence for their outstanding spirit of service. Andre Taylor, Journey Manager here at NZTA, was one of them.
The website publicservice.govt.nz quotes Andre’s success below:
‘Andre does his utmost to ensure all road users in his region are heard and truly listened to. As a former serious crash investigator and Hawke’s Bay Waka Kotahi lead in the response to Cyclone Gabrielle, Andre fronts difficult conversations with immense empathy and consideration. Following extreme weather events, Andre has been a key connector between rural communities, iwi, contractors, and agencies, restoring the region’s essential infrastructure. It is clear that Andre puts the health and safety of others at the forefront of everything he does.’
The bilingual kura school signs project, led by Te Mātāwai and NZTA Waka Kotahi, has won an Australasian award for engagement.
The project won the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Australasia Core Values Award for Indigenous Engagement at a ceremony in Brisbane, Australia on Wednesday 25 October 2023.
The award recognises the 2022 engagement process that paved the way for several different types of kura school signs to be put on state highways and local roads across Aotearoa New Zealand.
The project involved extensive engagement with Māori communities, language experts, road controlling authorities, industry, cross-Government and other stakeholders to develop and implement bilingual school signs.
Te Mātāwai is the independent statutory entity that works for the revitalisation of te reo Māori on behalf of iwi and Māori. Through Te Mātāwai, iwi and hapū language champions provided their views.
Four of our projects were recognised for their exceptional mahi at the 2023 Association of Consulting and Engineering (ACE) Awards, which rewards impactful projects across the motu that go above and beyond ‘business as usual’ to deliver great outcomes for communities.
Te Tupu Ngātahi Supporting Growth Alliance, which is responsible for investigating and planning more than 70 transport projects to support Auckland’s urban growth over the next 30 years, has received a prestigious national award.
The Resource Management Law Association (RMLA) selected Te Tupu Ngātahi as the winner of the Projects Award at the RMLA awards, held in Queenstown on 8 September. This category recognises when a project has ‘made a significant contribution to the advancement of best practice and the implementation of the Resource Management Act's purpose and principles’.
Sarah Ho, Principal Planner, says, ‘It’s great to be recognised for all the hard work the alliance has done over the past 5 years, and the work it continues to do. It’s always improving and streamlining processes and is an excellent example of partnering to support growth for future generations. A lot of the alliance’s work has set the benchmark for other similar infrastructure projects going forward.’
The Waihī to Ōmokoroa (W2Ō) project has won an award at the Engineering New Zealand ENVI awards, with the work of Te Tupu Ngātahi programme also acknowledged as a finalist in the Partnership category.
Partnership is described in the award outline as “an innovative collaboration that results in a better project outcome or has a significant positive impact to an ethnic group, workforce, customers, community or the environment."
W2Ō's success was not limited to the partnership between contracted parties, but also extended to form a partnership with communities. This helped to communicate the wider benefits of the project, including safety improvements and a reduction of deaths and serious injuries (DSI), employment opportunities, ecological enhancements, and improved resilience.
The winner was announced at the ENVI awards ceremony in Auckland on 28 July 2023.
The successful 48-day project to rebuild SH6 between Marlborough and Nelson has won 3 major national civil engineering awards.
After a metre of rain fell in just 4 days in the top of the South Island in August 2022, SH6 and SH63 had multiple underslips (slips on the downhill side of the road) and lots of other damage.
Fulton Hogan entered the project into the awards, and in June the project won the Project Innovation category at the 2023 National IPWEA (Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia, now known as Āpōpō) Excellence in Asset Management awards.
In July the project scooped up the Engineering Innovation award at the Engineering New Zealand awards. To top it off, in September, Fulton Hogan took out Category 3 (projects are categorised by value) at the Civil Contractors New Zealand awards for the project.
Our RiverLink programme’s resource consent process was awarded the New Zealand Planning Institute’s Best Practice Award for Integrated Planning and Investigations. Working together with programme partners Greater Wellington, Hutt City Council, and iwi Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika and Ngāti Toa Rangatira, the planning work for RiverLink was delivered by consultants GHD Ltd, working collaboratively with legal advisors Buddle Findlay.
Secondly, NZTA and Auckland Transport’s Te Tupu Ngātahi Supporting Growth Alliance received a highly commended in the Best Practice – Integrated Planning and Investigations category at this year’s NZ Planning Institute’s awards. It is the largest and most complex infrastructure planning and engagement undertaking in New Zealand’s history and comprises 70 separate projects across Auckland that are identifying and protecting the strategic transport network to support Auckland’s future urban environments.
Lastly, the Rodney Davies Award was awarded to the Northern Corridor Improvements project. This project is the last link in the Western Ring Route in Auckland, connecting the SH1 with SH18. It was delivered by an Alliance compromising NZTA, WSP, Jacobs, Fulton Hogan and Heb. The Alliance placed the customers, mana whenua, stakeholders and the local community at the heart of all decision-making.
The Takitimu North Link project in the western Bay of Plenty was awarded winner in the Roads and Highways category at Bentley Systems 2022 Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure on 15 November in London.
The annual awards programme celebrates the work of Bentley software users who are progressing infrastructure design, construction, and operations throughout the world.
Once completed, Takitimu North Link, a New Zealand Upgrade Programme project, will offer more varied transport opportunities and improved safety in the western Bay of Plenty, supporting economic development and population growth.
As the lead design consultant on the project, Beca has implemented an integrated, model-based digital approach that continues to complement the work being delivered by the project constructor Fulton Hogan HEB Construction Joint Venture and design subconsultant Holmes Group.
Our Mixed Driving campaign picked up a few awards at the Best Design Awards on 7 October 2022.
Hosted by the Designers Institute of New Zealand, The Best Design Awards is an annual showcase of excellence in graphic, spatial, product, digital and motion design along with three special awards - Value of Design, Public Good and Toitanga.
The Mixed Meds campaign won awards in the following categories:
Invercargill’s SouthRoads team has received an award for its innovation to improve road safety with the new Anihall Towsafe device.
The device decreases the risk of decoupled trailers which can cause deaths and serious injuries of staff or other road users.
Towsafe is a safety device fitted to a towing vehicle’s draw bar. The device is designed to lock over a coupled towbar, ensuring a light trailer being towed preventing it from being disconnected when the device is in place. It provides additional security to the towball attachment complete with a safety chain and also acts as a visual reminder or physical reference to the person coupling the attachment.
The Anihall Towsafe device hosts a range of safety benefits:
A project to answer: How much investment is needed to maintain New Zealand’s State Highway Network over a three-year period has been awarded the prestigious IPWEA Award for 2021.
Infrastructure Decision Support (IDS) and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s Strategic Maintenance Investment Justification Project won the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) 2021 Excellence in Asset Management category and Overall Project of the Year awards.
This work means Waka Kotahi can have greater trust and confidence that investment is being made in the right places to deliver the best transport outcomes for New Zealand.
The Industry Liaison Management Work Stream facilitated the sharing of innovations across the maintenance sector. In May 2021 they shared the best innovations from across the Network Outcome Contracts.
These innovations were submitted by contract teams from around the country for the 2021 Network Outcome Contracts Innovation award which were presented at the Waka Kotahi and NZIHT Conference Dinner.
The judges based the winner on how well the innovations:
The winner was West Waikato NOC Autonmated Road Intelligence with the two highly commended awards going to Southland NOC Anihall Towsafe and Northland NOC Cantilevered Sign posts.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has been recognised for its efforts to celebrate local heritage, with the Ōpaoa River Bridge project winning the 2021 Engineering NZ Heritage Award.
The prestigious award celebrates innovative heritage projects that have delivered value to a community, iwi, organisation, environment, education, or wider New Zealand society.
Opened in Blenheim at the end of 2020, the Ōpaoa River Bridge project provided a safer, stronger State Highway 1 bridge across the Ōpaoa River, as well as repurposing the heritage Ōpawa Bridge* for walking and cycling and a community gathering space.
The award-winning gateway to Blenheim.
Engineering NZ said the project delivered on all three of the award’s criteria - clear vision, engagement with all the right people, and a great impact on the local community.
As well as walking and cycling facilities, the repurposed Ōpawa Bridge offers community space to hold local events, complete with a courtyard, interpretative panels, gateway signage, and Pou Whenua.
New Ōpaoa River Bridge project
The commitment by Waka Kotahi to best practice community engagement has been recognised by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) with two awards.
The Te Ara Tupua team and Communications and Engagement lead Joel Rowan were awarded the New Zealand award for the Indigenous Engagement Category for the Wellington walking and cycling project.
The planning phase for the Ngauranga to Petone section took an innovative approach to collaborating with and empowering local iwi mana whenua in Wellington to develop unique cultural and community-focused outcomes in the project’s design.
The Christchurch Northern Corridor alliance team and Communications and Engagement lead Melanie Williams were also awarded the “highly commended” award in the Infrastructure (Construction) Category for the high levels of community involvement in every step of the project’s four year construction phase.
Christchurch Northern Corridor project
The Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway Alliance was recognised for its inclusive approach to iwi partnership at the 2021 Diversity Awards.
Te Ahu a Turanga won the Mātauranga Māori category (Small to Medium Organisation) of the 2021 NZ Diversity Works Awards for its unique approach to partnering with iwi and its commitment to embedding tikanga Māori throughout every aspect of the project.
Key features of the Te Ahu a Turanga project include:
Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway project
Hinetapuarau pou next to Te Whitinga o Tamataipunoa Bridge
The Hinetapuarau pou in Matawai won the Small Projects category in the Structural Engineering Society of New Zealand (SECOC) awards.
The award is given to a construction project in recognition of outstanding achievement in the advancement of structural engineering design and construction.
Designed by engineering consultancy WSP the pou was a great example of mahi tahi (collaboration).
Motu Bridge replacement project
The latest achievement in the Waka Kotahi corporate sustainability journey was to receive Toitū Envirocare carbon reduce certification.
Toitū Envirocare is an independent organisation that supports businesses becoming more sustainable through a suite of carbon and environmental programmes. Their carbon certification programmes are proof that an organisation is taking climate positive action.
Achieving Toitū carbon reduce certification is a huge achievement for our organisation and those involved.
Waka Kotahi has been recognised at the annual Qlik Australia New Zealand Digital Transformation Awards, winning the prestigious Celebrating Smart Uses of Public Data Award.
The award showcases how Waka Kotahi is driving remarkable business outcomes for our customers, the sector and our organisation through data analytics.
Examples of our data analytics products include the public-facing dashboards that are available on our Waka Kotahi website including:
These dashboards make data open and more accessible to the public, industry and government, and enable evidence-based decision-making.
It truly was a cross-agency multi-team collaboration to deliver these products and would not have been possible without the ideas and expertise of many teams including the Performance Analytics team, the Data Services team, Engagement and Partnerships and the Legal team.
Te Ahu a Turanga Alliance has been awarded a prestigious national award for excellence in consultation and participation from the New Zealand Planning Institute.
The award recognises outstanding creativity, innovation and service across the planning sector. Te Ahu a Turanga Alliance won the NZPI Best Practice Award for consultation and participation strategies and/or processes.
At the heart of the nomination was the vital role iwi partnership has played in the planning stages of the project, culminating in an historic ‘first’ – Te Ahu a Turanga is the first major infrastructure project in New Zealand to have iwi involved from the outset, as project partners at governance level and in roles throughout the Alliance.
Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway project
Waka Kotahi and WSP were awarded the ‘Taking communities on the journey award winner’ for The Kuaka Gateway at the 2021 On the Go Awards.
Formerly the Bike to the Future Awards, the On the Go Awards are organised by our Waka Kotahi in partnership with Cycling Action Network and Living Streets Aotearoa.
Waka Kotahi and WSP’s winning project The Kuaka Gateway was designed to improve safety at one of the top six high-risk rural intersections in New Zealand, along with regional walking and cycling connections, unlock economic growth and create an iconic northern gateway for Napier and the Heretaunga Plains.
It was developed in partnership with Napier City Council and Napier Airport.
SH2 Watchman Road intersection project
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Winner of Te Tohu a te Pirimia | Prime Minister’s Award (overall winner) & Te Tohu mō te Kaiārahi Mahi Whakahaere | Leadership in Governance Award.
The collective efforts of Waka Kotahi, KiwiRail, the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) alliance and Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura were recognised at the Public Services Commission awards.
Waka Kotahi were awarded two Spirit of Service Awards for its role in the restoration and recovery of the transport networks in Kaikōura following the devastating November 2016 earthquake – including the Prime Minister’s Award.
The project won the Outstanding Public Sector Leadership in Governance Award, recognising a governance group delivering outstanding results for New Zealand.
Waka Kotahi also won the overall Prime Minister’s Award, which was selected by the judging panel from the winners of each of the four award categories.
Four of our projects were given awards at the event, which celebrates and promotes excellence in public works engineering.
Winner – Excellence in Strategic Planning
Tonkin & Taylor, Tregaskis Brown and Waka Kotahi
The project identified and prioritised physical risks to New Zealand’s highway network in relation to natural hazards, climate change and key systemic issues.
National Resilience Programme Business Case
Winner – Best Public Works Project under $5 million
Waka Kotahi, WSP, and the main contractors, Downer and Fulton Hogan
The success of this recovery project was highlighted by the opening of the new 172-metre-long bridge less than 18 days after the old bridge was washed away.
SH6 West Coast and Waiho River bridge storm repairs
Highly Commended – Morphum Excellence in Environment and Sustainability Award (pictured above)
Waka Kotahi, Fulton Hogan, HEB Construction, WSP, Jacobs, Gaia Engineers and Bartley Consultants
The project reflects an integrated design approach where engineering and environmental considerations were developed and enhanced in response to site-specific challenges and community expectations.
Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway
Highly Commended – Excellence in Maximising Asset Performance
Waka Kotahi, WSP, Aurecon and McConnell Dowell
Lyttelton Tunnel’s new deluge system and ventilation system improvements align the tunnel with standards developed following the Mont Blanc event.
The ACE Awards recognise engineering projects that create vibrant and sustainable outcomes for New Zealand communities. Waka Kotahi won three awards.
Our Waikato Expressway Huntly Section project was awarded Silver. Jacobs and WSP worked for Fulton Hogan in a design-construct team to build the expressway for us.
The project was built on a collaborative approach to environmental management plan preparation, extensive ecological enhancement and restoration and outstanding visual and landscape outcomes.
Huntly Section of Waikato Expressway
Our Auckland System Management (ASM) Alliance team was awarded Merit for their work with streetlight replacements on the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Last year ASM worked with SRG Global NZ, WSP and Beca to replace more than 140 outdated high-pressure sodium luminaires with low energy LED luminaires and install 18 new, New Zealand-built light poles to replace those reaching the end of their life.
The result was an innovative, efficient, durable solution delivering a 52 per cent power saving, reduced maintenance costs and environmental benefits.
Auckland Harbour Bridge to get a road lighting upgrade
We were also awarded Merit for our successful collaboration on the State Highway 10 Taipā Bridge Replacement Project with Fulton Hogan and Aurecon.
Early engagement with hapū to understand their concerns around safety, environment and food gathering from the pipi beds was critical to the success of this project - we worked collaboratively to resolve these concerns.
The result is a beautiful bridge which reflects a giant waka hourua (traditional double-hulled sailing canoe) and pays tribute to the great Polynesian explorer Kupe, attracting tourists to boost the local economy.
State Highway 10 Taipā Bridge Replacement project
CloseThe NZ Transport Agency has been voted New Zealand’s Advertiser of the Decade by Campaign Brief’s Bestads. The Campaign Brief website targets the advertising industry and shares the latest in advertising news and new campaigns. Updated daily, it showcases the very best and latest advertising in all mediums being produced worldwide. Bestads gives visitors the opportunity to vote on the ads it showcases and then ranks the ads based on the votes.
Campaign Brief - Bestads rankings(external link)
Joint winners at the inaugural ENVI Awards 2019.
The recovery of the road and rail networks following the Kaikōura earthquake took out the Supreme Award at the Engineering NZ ENVI Awards.
Following a joint win in the Engineering Impact category (with Auckland Council’s Te Auaunga), Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, KiwiRail and the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) alliance’s work on the earthquake recovery was selected as the overall winner from the category winners.
Drive Go team members accepting their award.
The Drive Go mobile app has won a Gold pin in the Interactive Applications category at this year’s BestDesign Awards in October. Drive Go is part of the Drive programme – a free practical driving programme to help people prepare for all three driver licence tests, created in partnership with ACC.
The Belted Survivors campaign also won Silver in the Graphic Design craft section and Bronze in the Public Good section.
Drive Go mobile app(external link)
Belted Survivors campaign(external link)
The NZ Transport Agency, KiwiRail and the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) alliance won a prestigious North American rail industry award for the collaborative effort to open KiwiRail’s Main North Line, after it was devastated by the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.
The project was awarded the annual W. W. Hay Award for Excellence from the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association’s (AREMA). We were the first recipients outside of North America and Canada to win this award.
The NZ Transport Agency, KiwiRail and NCTIR won the Safeguard Workplace Health and Safety Collaboration Award, for the Kaikōura earthquake recovery.
The safety of workers and the travelling public was paramount from the outset and a health and safety approach was developed that brought all 350 organisations involved in the recovery to the same high level of safe work expectation.
2019 Safeguard Awards press release(external link)
Transport Agency Kaikoura earthquake response
Monica Brookes and Lachlan Forsyth received the award on behalf of the Transport Agency.
The Transport Agency won the ‘Emergency communications – Response and Recovery’ category at the 2019 EMPA Awards for the Transport Agency's response to the loss of the Waiho River bridge on the West Coast in March 2019. The bridge was a critical link on State Highway 6 with a 14-hour detour around the Southern Alps until it was fixed. Communicating the work to replace the bridge was a project almost as complex as the physical rebuild.
SH6 Waiho River bridge
2019 EMPA Awards for Excellence – NZ winners(external link)
The Waitangi Wharf upgrade in the Chatham Islands, Auckland’s Waterview Connection, the Mega Maps digital tool and the Moving Mountains to Reconnect Communities project in Kaikoura were all recognised for their excellence at the recent Innovate NZ Awards.
Held by the Association for Consulting and Engineering Professionals, Waterview and Waitangi Wharf won gold, while Mega Maps and Moving Mountains to Reconnect Communities received silver.
Natalie Mankelow and Amanda Weatherley receive the award on behalf of the Transport Agency.
The Transport Agency received Highly Commended in the 2019 Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) Awards in the Special Project or Short-term Campaign for the Maungatapu underpass community day.
The Maungatapu underpass community day was a free family fun day offering the unique opportunity to walk or cycle through the new underpass before it opened to traffic.
Maungatapu underpass community day
The State Highway 2 Watchman Road project scooped the award for Best Public Works Project over $5 million at the Institute of Public Works Engineers Australasia (IPWEA) NZ Excellence Awards.
This award follows two other awards given to the project this year including the New Zealand Planning Institute Te Kokiringa Taumata Rodney Davis Project 2019 Award, and an award from Civil Contractors NZ for construction.
The Waterview Connection project was recognised at the Los Angeles Business Council’s Architectural Awards.
The Tripartite Award acknowledges the Waterview Connection project was about so much more than the twin 2.4km long road tunnels deep underground.
The Drive Go mobile app has won Gold in the Interactive – Applications category at this year’s Best Design Awards. Run by the Designer’s Institute of New Zealand, their awards website describes the Best Design Awards as an annual showcase of excellence in graphic, spatial, product, interactive and motion design along with four boutique awards.’ Our partner provider, Alphero put together a video that summarises the development of Drive Go.
View the video on the Best Design Award's website(external link)
In February 2019, we launched the first phase of our seatbelt advertising campaign Belted Survivors. This campaign challenges males aged 20-40 years to view seatbelts as a ‘tool worth using’ and it took off immediately; social media posts were shared over 243,000 times in the first fortnight. By April, international media had picked up the campaign and 50,000 people had visited the Belted Survivors website.
Belted survivors campaign(external link)
Based in Korea, Ad Stars claim to be ‘the only international advertising festival that combines creativity with cutting-edge technology.’ Belted Survivors won a silver in the category of Design/Communication Design/Posters, a bronze and two crystals in the category of Outdoor/Outdoor Craft/Photography and another bronze for Public Service/Advertising/Healthcare.
In April 2019, Belted Survivors was recognised as a finalist in the category Social Marketing/Public Service of the Beacon Awards.
The Beacon Awards focus on media strategy and implementation rather than the actual creative of an ad. They recognise the power of innovative and highly effective media solutions to leverage the creative message and connect with/ engage customers.
The Best Design Awards honour excellence in graphic, spatial, product, interactive and motion design nationwide. At the 2019 awards, Belted Survivors received a bronze in the category of Public Good and a silver in the category of Design Craft.
Belted Survivors was awarded a silver award and three bronze awards in the 2019 Clio Awards. The Clio Awards were established in 1959 to celebrate creative excellence in advertising, honour work that ‘pushes boundaries, permeates pop culture and sets new precedents around the globe’.(external link)
The D&AD Pencil Awards celebrate the finest work in design and advertising globally. Belted Survivors won two wood pencils (the equivalent of bronze) in this year’s awards. Both awards were for Press and Outdoor but one fell in the category Public Service Poster Advertising and the other, Poster Advertising Campaigns.
Lürzer’s Archive is a bi-monthly magazine for the advertising industry that features advertising campaigns for print and TV from around the world. Making the front cover of this magazine is an honour and our new seatbelt campaign Belted Survivors was chosen as the cover for Issue 2, 2019.
Belted Survivors won bronze for Social Marketing/Public Service, silver for the Most Effective Integrated Campaign and gold for the Hardest Challenge. Introduced by the New York American Marketing Association, the Effie Awards are the only advertising awards that honour the effectiveness of a campaign. The Commercial Communications Council holds the New Zealand Effie Award licence.
CloseThe NZ Transport Agency, KiwiRail and the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery alliance (NCTIR) won the global Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) People’s Choice Award for 2018.
This prestigious award was decided by public vote and recognises a civil engineering project that transforms people’s lives.
Institute of Civil Engineers People's Choice award (external link)
Transport Agency Kaikoura earthquake response
The North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) alliance communications team won an EMPA Award for the response to the Kaikōura earthquake. NCTIR is an alliance between the Transport Agency, KiwiRail and construction partners.
The team won in the Response and Recovery category for ‘Supporting the recovery of a community impacted by an emergency’. The entry focused on the year-long approach to engage with the Kaikōura community, keep them informed of progress and support them while transport networks were rebuilt.
The annual EMPA Awards for Excellence in Emergency Communication have been established to recognise those who have made a significant contribution to emergency communications in Australia and New Zealand.
Kaikōura earthquake response
2018 EMPA Awards for Excellence – NZ winners(external link)
A Waikato project enhancing one of New Zealand’s most significant battle sites was a winner at the 2018 Institute of Public Administration NZ Awards.
The symbolic reinterpretation of the Rangiriri Paa – part of the works on the Rangiriri section of the Waikato Expressway - was awarded the Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development) Award for Excellence in Crown-Māori relationships.
Transport Agency director of regional relationships, Parekawhia McLean, says the Rangiriri Paa project shows what can be achieved when the Crown and iwi work together. “We have been able to preserve the cultural and historical significance of the paa, recognising the area’s history for all New Zealanders.”
The site of the 1863 Battle of Rangiriri in north Waikato was significantly damaged when SH1 was re-routed in 1965, and the development of the 4.8km Rangiriri section of the expressway provided an opportunity to shift the highway west of the Paa site, rehabilitate the area and landscape and interpret the original Paa site.
The project was also given an Outstanding Award in the Culture and Traditions category at the International Landscape Architects World Congress in Singapore in July 2018. Earlier in the year it won a bronze for landscape design, and a silver for landscape construction in the 2018 Registered Master Landscapers awards.
In recognition of excellence in construction, the $52m wharf project at Waitangi on the Chatham Islands has won the Civil Contractors NZ Excellence Awards for 2018 in the projects valued between $20 - $100m dollars.
The project, which required a purpose-built quarry to be established on the island, was delivered by the Memorial Park Alliance. The project was enormously challenging due to the remote location and distances involved in getting resources to and from the islands but overcoming these challenges also meant that strong bonds developed between all involved.
The 163-metre breakwater and wharf now provides a safe haven from the elements. The construction started in December 2015, and the official opening was held on 14 March 2018.
Memorial Park Alliance manager Hugh Milliken expressed his sincere appreciation for everyone’s efforts in making the project and award happen.
The Drive Community Toolkit received a coveted Gold Pin at the Designers Institute of New Zealand’s Best Design Awards. The Gold Pin recognises the best entry in each category and the Toolkit received the Gold Pin in the category of Public Good. The Best Awards are an annual showcase of excellence in graphic, spatial, product, interactive and motion design nationwide.
The Australian equivalent of the NZ Best Design Awards, the AGDA Awards 2018 celebrated the best design work for 2018 across a wide range of disciplines. Drive was recognised in several categories for both the Drive Virtual Reality (VR) app and the Drive Community Toolkit.
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The Transport Agency's Zero Harm Reporting Tool won the award for the Institute's HR technology category for 2016. This award recognises the outstanding use of technology to address an HR or people management challenge within an organisation.
Reporting health and safety incidents has never been easier with the reporting tool. The intuitive reporting application (app) can be downloaded onto any mobile device and allows real-time reporting of incidents that occur in the office, on the network, or on a project site regardless of employer. The tool also provides greater visibility of what is happening across the Transport Agency, with two web-based platforms — the reporting hub whereby principal contractors to any Transport Agency project must report the project's health and safety performance each month, and an incident hub that provides visibility of trends and incident specific data collected from the app.
The Human Resources Institute of New Zealand is the professional body for those involved in Human Resource Management and the development of people.
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Sam Bourne and Jacque Bell
Highway and Network Operations Environment and Urban Design team, together with Boffa Miskell and Isthmus, took out the 2015 New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects Award for landscape publications.
In announcing the award, the institute said the Urban Design and Landscape Guidelines are ‘two visually engaging documents, which focus on ensuring appropriate environmental and landscape outcomes are achieved around state highways. They are comprehensive in nature and work to clearly articulate the Transport Agency’s commitment to the New Zealand Urban Design Protocol and, subsequently, to broader landscape and environmental expectations and outcomes.’
The Transport Agency and Hamilton consultancy Bloxam, Burnett and Olliver were the big winners at the 2015 Planning Institute Awards.
Planning practices for the Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway saw them jointly claim the Best Practice Award for District and Regional Planning, and the overall Nancy Northcroft Supreme Best Practice Award.
The Huntly section involves 15 kilometres of four lane expressway, 4 million square metres of earthworks, an 80-metre cut through the Taupiri Range, over 100 hectares of forest, bush and wetland enhancement and permanent protection of a sacred lagoon and two pā.
Close collaboration and engagement with key affected parties throughout the development phase resulted in no resource consent hearings being required, and only a brief hearing to finalise designation conditions, with no appeals to the Environment Court.
The judges described the project as ‘demonstrating outstanding creativity and innovation in an example of best practice planning in an environmentally and culturally sensitive environment’.
The Transport Agency Waikato Highways Manager Kaye Clark says collaboration with key stakeholders such as Waikato-Tainui, the Department of Conservation, Waikato Regional Council and Waikato District Council, along with good planning, created such a positive outcome.
Managing Director of Bloxam Burnett and Olliver, John Olliver, says, ‘Even with complex projects, by engaging with people early and including them in the design and development process you can achieve outcomes that are acceptable to everyone, and avoid the cost and time of major hearings.’
In 2014 we received worldwide recognition for road safety advertising, with our advertising agency, Clemenger BBDO, picking up several prestigious national and international awards for ‘Mistakes’ and ‘Blazed’.
The ‘Mistakes’ advert shows that we share the road with others so the speed a person chooses to travel at needs to leave room for any potential error – whether it’s theirs or someone else’s. The advert ‘Blazed’ challenges perceptions about drug driving.
The Cannes Lions are the world’s biggest advertising awards, celebrating the best ideas changing the way brands interact with their customers. This year our speed advert ‘Mistakes’ and drug driving advert ‘Blazed’ won three Gold Lions, two Silvers and a Bronze award.
This success follows on from the New York Festival and One Show international awards, where our speed advert ‘Mistakes’, and our two drug-driving adverts ‘Blazed’ and ‘Expert Opinion’ received one grand prize, five first place, two second place, five third place and six finalist awards. At the One Show, we were awarded Gold for ‘Mistakes’ and Bronze for ‘Blazed’.
Continuing on the international front, TED, a global not-for-profit agency devoted to spreading ideas, selected our speed advert ‘Mistakes’ as one of the 10 winning ads to profile during their 2014 TEDActive conference in Whistler, Canada.
‘Blazed’ also won Gold at this year’s Australian Gold Awards.
Closer to home, ‘Blazed’ took out a number of prestigious New Zealand awards, including Gold at the Beacon Awards (NZ Media Awards). It also won over judges at the 2014 Axis Awards, winning Best Ad of the Year, along with a swag of supporting awards, including one Grand Prix, four Golds and three Bronzes.
We also had online success, with our interactive driving game picking up Gold and a Craft award at the NZ Direct Marketing Awards.
Jennie Gianotti, Manager of Network User Behaviour, says the ‘Mistakes’ advert in particular has had an impact internationally. ‘We’ve had requests from several countries to use our “Mistakes” concept and advertising, which tells us that speed is a universal road safety issue and that New Zealand’s ads are setting the benchmark around the world.’
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The Transport Agency gained two awards at the 2013 PRINZ Awards.
The communications team for the Manawatū Gorge road closure won in the Issues, Crisis or Emergency Management category. The judges said it was a fantastic example of back-to-basics communication but with a creative twist.
The other win went to the give way rules change campaign in the Government or Quasi-Government Public Relations category. The judges said it was a well presented project, with some smart thinking included.
The annual PRINZ Awards recognise and reward outstanding public relations and communication management projects in New Zealand. They are the country’s only dedicated public relations and communication management awards.
Leadership and innovation at the Transport Agency was recognised with our own Craig Soutar winning the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Year award in June 2013.
The award is a prestigious one, and Craig was competing against finalists from companies such as Beca and Meridian Energy. It recognises New Zealand CIOs who show innovation and have key successes that fit with their company’s overall business strategy.
The judges said ‘Craig is a role model CIO and makes a significant contribution to the IT industry in New Zealand. He demonstrates leadership, innovation and strong influencing skills.’
Craig acknowledges the culture at the Transport Agency that has allowed him and his IS teams to be successful. ‘A wonderful responsibility for leaders is to set conditions and create a culture for people to thrive and be all that they can be.’
Up against strong competition from Westpac and Mighty River Power, the Transport Agency Finance team came out on top as ‘Finance Team of the Year’ at the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Summit in March 2014. The judges felt that the transformation and modernisation of the Transport Agency’s finance function is a benchmark for the public sector. The award was sponsored by the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The institute also recognised Paul Helm, Chief Financial Officer, at the Transport Agency, as the 2013 Public Sector CFO of the Year, at its annual awards ceremony in late 2013.
This award is open to all public sector CFOs and Paul was up against stiff competition from the Ministry of Education and the Auckland Health Alliance. The judges commented that, ‘Paul has taken the finance function through significant change since 2009 and has demonstrated inspiring leadership and integrity during the transition.’
Paul acknowledged his team, other leaders and decision makers in the Transport Agency for their support in making important changes to financial systems over the past few years.
The Transport Agency’s contact centre received top honours this year at the Manawatū Contact Centre Awards, collecting three awards – the prestigious Contact Centre of the Year award, Customer Service Representative of the Year for Steve Williams and Trainer of the Year for Lynne Wrench.
Being recognised as Contact Centre of the Year isn’t a new experience for the Transport Agency, having won in 2011. The judges commented that the Transport Agency contact centre ‘continues to run like a well-oiled machine’. The achievements demonstrate that the focus on customers continues to make a difference.
The annual awards are open to over 30 contact centres in the Manawatū/Horowhenua area and a ceremony was held to present winners with their awards in front of 240 peers.
Customer service representative Steve Williams was praised for his winning phone manner and willingness to go out of his way ‘to make the customer experience a positive one and provide them with more than expected’, the judges said.
They said that trainer Lynne Wrench brought a ‘refreshed, energised and very passionate style of training to the Transport Agency. She’s a holistic and flexible teacher and easily able to modify her approach to group and individual needs.’
Michelle Charlton, Manager of Customer Information, said having a high number of finalists and winners is a real achievement. ‘To win three prestigious awards is icing on the cake! To be recognised by our peers and the contact centre industry for the level of service we give to, and commitment we have for, our customers is outstanding’.
‘We continue to put the customer at the heart of our business and it’s really making a difference.’
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