WC 357: resilience improvements

This page relates to the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme.

Introduction

Work category 357 provides for non-routine work to increase the resilience of the existing road network (including roads and road structures). This work category also provides for non-routine work to minimise the threat of road closure from natural phenomena.

Qualifying activities

Work category 357 is available to the following activity classes:

local road improvements
state highway improvements.

Local road and state highway improvements

Examples of qualifying activities

Examples of qualifying activities include:

new works to protect existing roads from sea or river damage
new drainage for incipient (developing) slips
toe-weighting of unstable slopes
protection planting designed to arrest the slumping or displacement of a road platform
work to overcome changes in a river’s course or bed level that threaten roads, bridges or other road-related structures, but which is not attributable to one climatic event.

You can discuss with us (NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) as investor) whether other potential activities not in the above list might also be eligible for inclusion in this work category.

Exclusions

Work category 357 excludes:

maintenance of protection planting – this is funded under work category 121:
Work category 121: environmental maintenance

resilience improvements less than $2 million per activity – these are funded under work category 341
Work category 341: low-cost, low-risk improvements

footpaths, cycleways or off-road cycleways, whether or not part of the resilience improvement – these are funded under work category 451 or 452 respectively.
Work category 451: walking facilities
Work category 452: cycling facilities

bus infrastructure, whether or not part of the resilience improvement – these are funded under work category 532 or 561.
Work category 532: low-cost, low-risk public transport improvements
Work category 561: public transport passenger facilities and infrastructure improvements - bus

Conditions of funding

The approved organisation and NZTA (for its own activities) must identify individual resilience improvement activities and justify them in terms of value for money using appropriate cost-benefit analysis.

If the proposed works have a ‘very low’ efficiency rating (benefit–cost ratio (BCR) < 1.0 or net present value (NPV) < 0) they must be assessed against NZTA policy on uneconomic transport infrastructure.

Uneconomic Transport Infrastructure Policy

A risk assessment for each proposed activity must be undertaken, using the risk assessment guidance below.

Protection planting is an example of an activity that may be eligible for assistance under work category 357. The following components of protection planting are eligible for funding assistance under this work category:

the initial costs of planting, including any fencing or other protective measures to prevent damage by stock
the purchase of any land required outside the road reserve for planting and/or retirement
compensation payable to a landowner for a covenant to retire land and/or plant trees for road protection where purchase is impracticable or undesirable.

Approval of funding for protection planting is conditional on legally enforceable agreements that define the responsibilities for the management of retired areas outside the road reserve and ensure there is no duplication of funding from us or other sources.

Funding assistance rate

The usual funding assistance rate (FAR) is:

the approved organisation's normal FAR
Normal funding assistance rates

the approved organisation's special purpose roads maintenance FAR
Other funding assistance rates

100% of the NZTA state highway costs.

Submitting activities for National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) consideration and funding approval

Approved organisations and NZTA (for its own activities) submit these activities using the improvements activity template in Transport Investment Online (TIO). The risk assessment should be included in the transport problem/opportunity field of the improvements activity template in TIO.

Transport Investment Online(external link)

For guidance on using TIO, see the TIO learning and guidance page on our website.

Transport Investment Online (TIO) learning and guidance

Risk assessment

An overall risk rating should be identified using the methodology set out in appendix G of the National Resilience Programme Business Case.

Appendix G, National Resilience Programme Business Case [PDF, 296 KB]

Table 3.5 describes the possible resilience risk ratings. Until such time as this table is updated to reflect the One Network Framework (ONF) classification, you should interpret the table from One Network Road Classification (ONRC) to the ONF prior to assessing the risk rating.

For eligible activities, an investment priority profile is required in addition to the risk assessment. This should use the NZTA Investment Prioritisation Method.

2024–27 NLTP Investment Prioritisation Method

The above risk assessment does not determine the results alignment for resilience improvements activities. The road improvements results alignment profiling should be used to determine the results alignment.

Further information

For details of uneconomic transport infrastructure, see the policy.