WC 141: emergency works

 

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

Introduction

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.

Definition of terms

Response means the initial work necessary to reopen a road or other transport facility, where practicable, for safe use, albeit at a basic level of service, or to minimise risk of further damage. This includes:

• site inspections and establishment of the emergency response team
• debris clearance, temporary route management and reinstatement, emergency bridging installation (such as Bailey bridges, etc), restoration of drainage, temporary site protection measures, and temporary site traffic management
• minor recovery that can be carried out in the short term at low cost and is necessary for safety or temporary access, irrespective of future decisions on recovery
• geotechnical and structural investigations, scoping, costing and planning for recovery.

Recovery means the work to restore levels of service on a ‘like-for-like’ basis, or a reduced level of service.

Like for like means 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.

Current design standards may include the following:

• meeting non-avoidable engineering design requirements
• meeting building consent and resource consent requirements of the relevant local and regional authority, such as meeting engineering resistance design standards for an earthquake
• engineering requirements to manage the risk and consequence of hazards impacting the design life for the structure and the transport network it services
• improvements of a minor nature to restore level of service may be undertaken, such as altering the alignment of the infrastructure in a minor way.

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).

Qualifying activities

Work category 141 covers response works and recovery works relating to 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 operations
• state highway operations
• public transport infrastructure
• walking and cycling
• rail network.

Local road and state highway operations

Public transport services and infrastructure

Walking and cycling

Rail network

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.

Qualifying event

An event that qualifies for NLTF funding as emergency works will:

• be of unusually large magnitude or severity for the area in which they occur (as a guide, they would be expected to have an annual return period greater than 1 in 10 years)
• originate from a short-duration triggering event, including very high intensity rainfall, severe wind, fire or seismic event that causes damage to transport infrastructure or facilities
• have reduced, or will reduce within a 12-month period, levels of transport service below those that existed prior to the event
• involve a total cost of $100,000 or more per event per approved organisation or NZTA (for its own activities in the region)
• be clearly defined, named, and described, with a separate funding application required for each event.

Like-for-like recovery

'Like for like' recovery 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 the 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.

Like for like excludes improvements such as an additional cycleway where there wasn’t one previously, or an improvement in resilience.

Exclusions

Work category 141 excludes:

• minor events of less than $100,000 total cost ‒ these are funded from within the approved organisation’s and NZTA (for its own activities in the region) approved maintenance programme under work category 140:
  Work category 140: minor events

• 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
• 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

High intensity rainfall events

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)

Funding assistance rate

The usual funding assistance rate (FAR) that applies to emergency works for qualifying events within each financial year is:

• the approved organisation's normal FAR – this covers cumulative claims for total costs of emergency works up to 10% of the approved organisation's total cost of its local road pothole prevention and local road operations programme for the year (as approved when the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) was adopted).
  Normal funding assistance rates

or

• the approved organisation's normal FAR plus 20% to a maximum of 95% – this is for the part of the cumulative claims of total costs of emergency works that exceeds 10% of the approved organisation's total cost of its local road pothole prevention and local road operations programme for the year.

For example:

• • an approved organisation's local road pothole prevention programme for a year was approved at a total cost of $2 million and its local road operations programme for a year was approved at a total cost of $3 million
  • its normal FAR for that year may be 52%
  • its cumulative claims for emergency works in the same year may total $700,000
  • the FAR for the first $500,000 (10% of $5 million) will be 52%
  • the FAR for the $200,000 above 10% will be 72%.

Note that the above enhanced FAR is under review and is subject to an NZTA Board decision that would take effect from 1 July 2025.

or

• the approved organisation’s special purpose roads FAR for the 2024–27 NLTP
  Other funding assistance rates

or

• 100% of the NZTA state highway costs

or

• for KiwiRail activities, the FAR is 100% of the net agreed costs of activities eligible for funding within the approved Rail Network Investment Programme (RNIP). Funding must be approved by the Minister of Transport.

Special FAR for the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend and cyclones Gabrielle and Hale severe weather events

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:

• eligible response costs at a rate of normal FAR plus 40%, to a maximum of 100%. All claims to be completed by 31^st of December 2024.
• eligible recovery costs at a rate of normal FAR plus 30% to a maximum of 97.5% where councils have demonstrated financial hardship. All claims to be completed by the 30^th of June 2025.

For NZTA (for its own activities) and KiwiRail activities, the emergency works FAR is their normal FAR of 100%.

The initial response phase covers:

• the work necessary to reopen a road or other facility, where practicable, to at least a single-lane facility for safe use by traffic or to minimise risk of further damage, debris clearance from roads, bridges and paths, temporary route reinstatement, emergency bridging installation (for example Bailey bridges), restoration of drainage, temporary site protection measures, and temporary site traffic management, and
• minor reinstatements or non-complex recovery, geotechnical and structural investigations and programme scoping, costing and planning for recovery.

We (NZTA as investor) will apply the special FAR as follows:

• NIWE includes Cyclone Gabrielle (being the severe weather event which crossed the North Island during the period commencing on 12 February 2023 and ending on 16 February 2023) and the Auckland Anniversary flooding event (being the heavy rainfall commencing on 26 January 2023 and ending on 3 February).
• Cyclone Hale refers to the severe weather event which crossed the North Island during the period commencing on 8 January 2023 and ending on 12 January 2023.
• Where damage has occurred from both Cyclone Hale and Cyclone Gabrielle/Auckland Anniversary flooding event, then the entire event is treated as being from Cyclone Gabrielle/Auckland Anniversary flooding event. A single application may be made, but we expect that as far as is practical approved organisations will maintain separate records of their initial response and reinstatement costs for managing each event.
• All works will conform to the work category 141 standard eligibility criteria and conditions of funding for emergency works.

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)

Special FAR exclusions

Rebuild works (that is, improvements or realignment) would be funded as an improvement activity and funded at normal FAR.

Submitting activities for NLTP consideration and funding approval

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.

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.

Extreme events bespoke arrangements for hardship reasons

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.

Uneconomic transport infrastructure

In relation to uneconomic transport infrastructure, the requirements of the Uneconomic Transport Infrastructure Policy must be met.

Uneconomic Transport Infrastructure Policy

Emergency works process

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 apply for funding approval within a reasonable timeframe for response works. We recommend that within 6 weeks for approved organisations or within 4 weeks for NZTA (for its own activities), an application for funding approval of response works must be entered into TIO. 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) 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)

Conditions of funding

General conditions of funding that apply to emergency works.

The approved organisation or NZTA (for its own activities) will ensure:

• its procurement procedures comply with requirements of section 25 of the Land Transport Management Act 2003
  Land Transport Management Act 2003, section 25(external link)
• its records of costs relating to emergency works are kept accurately to support claims and can demonstrate the allocation of costs to response, recovery and any improvements.

The enhanced FAR in relation to response and recovery costs is conditional upon the following:

• The approved organisation’s activity management plan is updated no later than 30 June 2027 to consider, in advance of an emergency event, which parts of the network are prioritised to restore levels of service and which parts of the network may require consideration of a different level of service or alternatives to recovery.
• After an emergency event, discussions with funders and affected communities occur for those parts of the network that are uneconomic where consideration of a different level of service or alternatives to recovery is appropriate.

End-of-year reconciliation and carryover

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.