This page relates to the 2024–27 National Land Transport Programme.
Work category 141 enables funding from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) for response and recovery works to address the impact of major, short-duration, sudden events that cause urgent safety and access problems on part(s) of the transport network and that result in unforeseen, significant expenditure.
Response means the initial work necessary to address safety and where practicable prepare for safe use of a road or other transport facility, albeit at a basic level of service, or to minimise risk of further damage. This includes:
Recovery means the work to restore levels of service on a ‘like-for-like’ basis, or a reduced level of service.
Like for like is the modern equivalent of the transport infrastructure, not necessarily of the same material type or structural form that meets current design standards to restore level of service] , on the basis that the infrastructure is replaced in the same approximate location and includes the immediate approaches to any replacement structure. This may include altering the alignment to allow off-line construction and/or improve safety and geometric performance of the structure in the network (approach lengths are limited to the distance necessary to safely transition to and from any new off-line alignment in accordance with the design parameters for the safe speed for the road classification).
We accept that restoration of level of service on a like-for-like basis may result in the infrastructure having a longer useful life than previously, due to the provision of new materials or a new structure.
Current design standards may include the following:
Resilience improvements are non-routine work to eliminate or reduce the risk of damage to transport infrastructure or interruptions to level of service including from an emergency event (see ‘Exclusions’ below for further information).
Work category 141 covers response works and recovery works that arise from a qualifying event. This applies to transport infrastructure that is eligible for funding from the NLTF, including roading, rail, public transport and walking and cycling infrastructure.
Work category 141 is available to the following activity classes:
Local road and state highway operations
Public transport services and infrastructure
You can discuss with us (NZTA as investor) whether other potential activities not listed above might also be eligible for inclusion in this work category.
An event that qualifies for NLTF funding as emergency works must:
originate from a short-duration triggering event, including very high intensity rainfall, severe wind, fire or seismic event, and
be of unusually large magnitude or severity for the area in which it occurs (as a guide they would be expected to have an annual return period of greater than one in 10 years), and
involve a total cost of $100,000 or more per event per approved organisation or NZTA (for its own activities) in the region, and
result in immediate or imminent significant reductions in safety and access levels of service below that which existed prior to the event.
Work category 141 excludes:
dropouts/and or slips that do not require/result in restriction of a traffic lane, provided they do not need urgent attention to remove a life risk from transport infrastructure
costs of full replacement of assets damaged or destroyed by a qualifying event at/near end of life
any other deficiency which has developed from events that have occurred over a period of time (that is, greater than one month)
the effects of scour, degradation, aggradation and land movements that have accumulated over time
costs of damage or deficiencies from land movements that have not been triggered by a specific event
damage due to drought
the repair of any damage to work under construction, including within the post-construction maintenance period ‒ this is a charge to the activity under construction and is expected to be covered by the supplier's insurance
any damage that is the result of a human intervention or incident, for example caused by a vehicle crash or operational activity
damage that resulted from lack of maintenance that should have been carried out as part of normal asset management of the land transport network
improvements beyond ‘like for like’ – these must be assessed and prioritised as improvement activities, and, if approved, funded from the appropriate work category and improvement activity class
costs to respond to damage that may be caused by qualifying events but the activities are not eligible for funding from the NLTF, for example aesthetic treatments on berms, shoulders, medians and traffic islands
resilience improvements – these are funded under work category 357 out of an improvement activity class at normal funding assistance rates.
Work category 357: resilience improvements
For information on return period storm events, see the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) high intensity rainfall design system. A ‘return period’ in this context is the estimate of the period of time between high intensity rainfall events.
NIWA high intensity rainfall design system(external link)
Rainfall recorded at specific weather stations throughout New Zealand can be accessed through the NIWA Cliflo service. Users need to subscribe for this free service.
NIWA Cliflo service(external link)
The usual funding assistance rate (FAR) that applies to emergency works for qualifying events within each financial year is:
or
Where the combined costs of a response and/or recovery phase of an emergency event (or multiple emergency events) straddle more than one financial year but less than 3 financial years, the 10% threshold before the emergency works enhanced FAR is applicable will only apply in the year of the funding application, that is, the enhanced FAR will generally not revert to normal FAR at the start of the financial years following first approval.
Note that we (NZTA as investor) expect approved organisations will make timely progress in delivering response and recovery phase activities. Where we consider that timely delivery is not occurring then we retain the right to review and reset the FAR for the remainder of the emergency event reinstatement. response and/or recovery.
For example:
or
or
or
The NZTA Board has approved the application of a special FAR to approved organisations for the January 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend flood events and Cyclone Gabrielle (together known as the North Island Weather Events – NIWE) and/or Cyclone Hale.
This includes:
For NZTA (for its own activities) and KiwiRail activities, the emergency works FAR is their normal FAR of 100%.
The initial response phase covers:
We (NZTA as investor) will apply the special FAR as follows:
Approved organisations are required to create their emergency works requests for these events by completing the template in Transport Investment Online (TIO) in the usual way for all years. We (NZTA as investor) will review the request and complete funding approval in the usual way.
Transport Investment Online(external link)
Rebuild works (that is, improvements or realignment) will be assessed for funding as an improvement activity and funded at normal FAR..
Approved organisations and NZTA (for its own activities) submit these activities using the emergency works template in Transport Investment Online (TIO). A separate activity needs to be set up in TIO for each event, with relevant documentation uploaded to support the application.
Transport Investment Online(external link)
For guidance on using TIO, see the TIO learning and guidance page on our website and ensure you submit the correct template for the work category or categories.
Transport Investment Online (TIO) learning and guidance
Emergency works activities for response and recovery costs do not need to be added to the relevant regional land transport plan (RLTP) prior to funding approval and will be added to the NLTP automatically on processing of an approval.
We require that options for recovery will have been considered and the funding application should explain why the proposed recovery solution is proposed for funding. We may assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed solution.
The NZTA Board acknowledges that extreme events or a series of large events can impact a local authority’s ability to raise local share to respond to those events. The NZTA Board will not consider providing NLTF financial assistance at a rate above the approved emergency works FAR policy (that is, a bespoke FAR arrangement) unless additional Crown funding becomes available that enables NZTA to provide financial assistance to an approved organisation.
In relation to uneconomic transport infrastructure, the requirements of the Uneconomic Transport Infrastructure Policy must be met.
Uneconomic Transport Infrastructure Policy
Responsibility for immediate responses/actions to ensure public safety and restore vital access rests with the approved organisation or NZTA (for its own activities).
All applications for emergency works consideration and approval must be submitted for funding approval within a reasonable timeframe for response works. We require approved organisations to submit an application for funding in TIO for response works within 6 weeks of the event, and within 4 weeks for NZTA (for its own activities). There is no time limit for an application for funding for recovery works, but recovery costs must not be incurred prior to obtaining funding approval.
Guidance has been developed to assist approved organisations and NZTA (for its own activities) and that sets out the process for applying for funding.
Emergency works funding guide for approved organisations
Emergency works (funding guide for NZTA for its own activities)
General conditions of funding apply to emergency works. The approved organisation or NZTA (for its own activities) will ensure:
The enhanced FAR in relation to response and recovery costs is conditional upon the following:
At the end of each year, the emergency works approvals will be reconciled to claims. Any application that does not qualify as emergency works due to the total cost being less than $100,000 will be moved to work category 140 and its FAR adjusted. This will mean that the FAR for the remaining emergency works may also require adjustment in TIO. Any carryover to the following year will be added to any approved emergency works in that year and the appropriate FAR applied.
Work category 140: minor events
TIO will automatically carry over the unspent allocation every year. It is vital that approved organisations and NZTA (for its own activities) declare as surplus any unused allocation for completed approved emergency works activities by making a cost scope adjustment via the reviews module in TIO.
