Slope Assessed Risk Level Course(s)
Dates for the next course have not been determined due to an apparent lack of numbers. If you are interested and want to attend a course, it is essential that you register at ARL_Course@nzta.govt.nz so that we know the numbers which dictates when the next courses will be offered.
Gentle Re-organisation
Some readers will be aware of the recent reorganisation within NZTA. Within Transport Services (where the technical people essentially reside) there have been some changes. A dedicated ‘asset management’ team has been formed with representation from each technical discipline included to create a holistic view that incorporates technical discipline needs and requirements. The Office of the Chief Engineer has changed focus to be future focused and continues to be responsible for technical standards. By the time you read this the changes should be fully integrated with seamless outputs.
NZTA Bridge and Geotechnical Conference
The first co-discipline NZTA conference was a resounding success with great feedback from those who attended. The standard of presentations was high with a diverse range of subjects. It is planned to repeat this successful NZTA organised conference in 2026. All presentations (except those not uploaded at the authors request) are available to those who attended the conference via the details sent to all participants.
Standardised Designs for RoNS projects
Those working on NZTA/Waka Kotahi projects may have heard of the “Standardised Designs: NZTA Standardised design solutions for use on State Highway Roads of National Significance”, a document issued by the Office of the Chief Engineer. If you haven’t, you need to take a look as it is becoming the replacement to Principals Requirements and Minimum Requirements, setting the baseline for those elements of design that can be standardised. Whilst it covers all aspects of road design, there are some useful geotechnical considerations within it. In the geotechnical area most of you will realise it’s difficult to provide ‘standardised’ geotechnical designs for capital projects since geotechnical structures are determined by other aspects of detailed design; essentially geometrics and land-take. We generally ‘tie-together’ the fixed elements of design to make the project fit the designation. Added to this, ground conditions vary across the country requiring soil property specific changes. Hence the geotechnical focus has been on ‘standardised elements’, those common aspects that are regularly used.
Version 2 of the document can be downloaded from the HIP (Highways Information Portal) at https://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/standardised-designs/. Version 3, in which further geotechnical content is planned, is expected to be issue around early to mid-2025 and should be available from the same location at that time. Let us know if you think there’s something we are missing or that could be included, noting it’s for NZTA capital fast-track projects only at this time.
Maintenance and Operations/Emergency works
Those working in this space (maintenance as opposed to new -capital- projects) will know what a constraint the Bridge Manul can be when designing a drop-out or slope remediation. Of course, it is the only standard that covers these aspects and as such is the ‘go-to’ document. This results in expensive solutions out of context with the corridor it sits within and depletes our limited funding rapidly with less remedials being treated.
As a consequence, we are currently looking at a M&O design ‘standard’ which effectively modifies the current Bridge manual to cover maintenance and emergency works. A potential game changer to keep your eye open for.
Departures from standard
An update to the current departures ‘template’ and guidance notes is under way and due for publication in early 2025. The update includes details of the process, who does what and associated target timeframes. The update and revised process will enable departures to be turned around quicker through specific processes rather than the current ad-hoc departure submission approach. The template, notes for guidance, process description and details will be published on the HIP and through a TAN (Technical Advice Note). Clarity on how to submit and respective roles and responsibilities will reduce timeframes over the current process.
What’s next?
The next shift is likely to be a greater integration with technical societies to do more with less. The days of each organisation developing their own standards are gone and building off each other’s is the current vogue. The next step will be to avoid duplication and utilise the skills within technical societies to help develop standards and guidance that can be used across organisations; maybe with some minor organisational addendum akin to the so called ‘country amendments’ we use to enable adoption of overseas standards and guidance. Within the geotechnical space the applicable technical society is our New Zealand Geotechnical Society and hopefully we take up this challenge which will benefit the greater industry rather than singular entities. So, look out for that trend over the coming 12-18 months.
Finally, during my tenure as lead in the geotechnical space at NZTA, there has been significant support from the industry and a number of individuals (members) all wanting to ‘make a difference’: the very reason I joined NZTA. To you all I say, ‘thank you’.
