Work category 241: Preventive maintenance

Introduction

This work category A type of activity – not confined to a particular activity class, e.g. new roads (work category 323) appears in:

* activity class 12 – local road improvements
* activity class 13 – state highways improvements provides for non-routine work required to protect the serviceability of the following from damage, and to minimise the threat of road closure arising from natural phenomena:

• roads
• road structures, and
• eligible cycle facilities

Examples of qualifying activities

Examples of qualifying activities include, but may not be limited to:

• new works that protect existing roads from sea or river damage
• new drainage to drain incipient slips
• toe-weighting of unstable slopes
• protection planting designed to arrest the slumping or displacement of a road platform, and
• work to overcome changes in a river’s course or bed level that threaten roads, bridges A structure designed to carry a road or path over an obstacle by spanning it. This includes culverts with a cross-sectional area greater than or equal to 3.4 square metres. or other road-related structures, but which is not attributable to one climatic event.

Other potential activities that are not in the above list should be discussed with the NZ Transport Agency for eligibility.

Exclusions

This work category A type of activity – not confined to a particular activity class, e.g. new roads (work category 323) appears in:

* activity class 12 – local road improvements
* activity class 13 – state highways improvements excludes maintenance of protection planting.

This is covered under Work category 121: environmental maintenance.

Funding assistance rate

The usual funding assistance rate is:

• the Approved Organisation’s base rate
• the Approved Organisation’s special purpose roads rate, and
• 100 percent for the NZTA (state highways).

End of year carryover

Transport Investment Online (TIO The NZTA's web-based funding allocation system. ) will automatically carryover the unspent allocation every year.  Therefore it is vital that Approved Organisations and the NZTA (State Highways) declare the unused allocation for completed projects by making a cost-scope adjustment via the Reviews module in TIO The NZTA's web-based funding allocation system. .

NB A future upgrade to TIO The NZTA's web-based funding allocation system. will allow the project to be marked as completed.

Protection planting

The following components of protection planting are eligible for funding assistance under this work category A type of activity – not confined to a particular activity class, e.g. new roads (work category 323) appears in:

* activity class 12 – local road improvements
* activity class 13 – state highways improvements :

• 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 A legally described area within which facilities such as roads, footpaths That portion of the road reserve set aside for the use of pedestrians only. and associated features may be constructed and maintained for public travel. for planting and/or retirement, and
• 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 assistance for protection planting is conditional on the following:

• legally enforceable agreements are to be implemented that define the responsibilities for management of retired areas outside the road reserve A legally described area within which facilities such as roads, footpaths That portion of the road reserve set aside for the use of pedestrians only. and associated features may be constructed and maintained for public travel. no duplication of funding assistance from the NZ Transport Agency and other sources.

Evaluation of activities

These works must be individually identified and economically justified. They must be the long-term, least-cost option for the Approved Organisation and the NZTA (state highways), calculated in terms of present value (PV A future cost or benefit at its discounted value at the present day. Net present value (NPV) is the present value of a future benefit less the present value of the associated future cost. All benefits and costs are in current day values, without adjustment for inflation. ).

The cost of proposed works must be assessed against the NZ Transport Agency’s policy on uneconomic roading facilities.

Risk assessment procedure

The risk assessment procedure below must be followed. Sites that are identified with greater than high risk are eligible for immediate funding consideration. Lower level risk items may be programmed for future years.

For eligible activities an assessment profile The three-part rating for an activity, rated as high, medium or low e.g. HMM, and representing the assessment for Strategic Fit, Effectiveness, and Benefit and Cost Appraisal respectively. is required in addition to the risk assessment, using the NZ Transport Agency Assessment Framework. The result of the above risk assessment does not determine the strategic fit for Preventive Maintenance activities. The road renewals strategic fit assessment should be used to determine the Strategic Fit.

References

For detail about:

• uneconomic roading facilities, see Uneconomic roading facilities.
• simplified economic efficiency procedure for preventive maintenance, see the Economic Evaluation Manual (Jan 2016), –  SP1.
• do-minimum – refer to the Economic Evaluation Manual section 2.7.