Transport Minister Simeon Brown says that the Coalition Government is moving to reduce spending on road cones and temporary traffic management (TTM) while maintaining the safety of workers and road users.
The government is initiating a new risk-based approach to TTM that will reduce the number of road cones on our roads, and help improve traffic flows.
It is also insisting that NZTA publicly reports in October how much money has been spent on TTM each year for the past three years. Thereafter, it will report quarterly on the cost of TTM with the expectation that such spending reduces over time. The Road Efficiency Group is appointing independent members to manage the reduction in TTM spending.
Minister Brown says “Road maintenance is essential, and some level of TTM is unavoidable. But the current approach is out of control. Excessive use of road cones and temporary speed limit reductions – sometimes left in place when work is completed – simply increase costs, force people to slow down, and frustrate drivers.
“In fact, the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) conducted a review of TTM at 800 maintenance worksites on the State highway network in February and found that 145 of these sites were not needed. That shows how out of control the use of road cones and TTM have become.
“NZTA is responding to the Government’s expectation that TTM expenditure is reduced by rolling out new risk-based TTM guidance at worksites on State Highways. This model is based on the Australian approach to TTM, where there is far less reliance on the no-longer-humble orange road cone.
“This new approach will include changes to contracts, a new way of training, and monitoring to ensure this meets both safety and cost efficiency outcomes. NZTA is now also continually reviewing current TTM on the network and instructing its suppliers to remove TTM that is not required.
“However, we won’t know whether these changes are effective unless we are also reporting and measuring whether it is working. When I became Minister of Transport, I asked NZTA to outline how much money had been spent each year for the past three years on TTM and was advised this information was not compiled and so was unavailable.
“The Government will be requiring NZTA and all Road Controlling Authorities to report quarterly on the amount of taxpayers’ money it is spending so that Kiwis know how much is being spent on TTM.
“Already our Government has delivered a $3.9 billion funding boost to fix and prevent potholes on our State Highways and local roads. Over the next decade, NZTA will deliver an increased road renewals programme in an efficient way that reduces the number of road cones and TTM costs overall.
“To maximise the effectiveness of maintenance work across New Zealand, the Government will also appoint independent members to the Road Efficiency Group (REG) with a focus on finding efficiencies to deliver more for taxpayers’ investment in road maintenance.
“The Government is also reviewing the Health and Safety at Work Act and the impact it has on TTM practices to see if changes are required to ensure we balance the safety of road workers with the need to keep costs under control and not unnecessarily inconvenience motorists.”
