Hon Simeon Brown
Minister of Transport

19 September 2024

The Government is rolling out data collection vans across the country to better understand the condition of our road network to prevent potholes from forming in the first place, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.

“Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is a key priority for the Government and increasing data collection to prevent potholes will deliver a safe and efficient network that will support this growth.

“Today, I travelled in one of the new Consistent Condition Data Collection (CCDC) survey vans being delivered as part of the Road Efficiency Group (REG) to see first-hand how better data collection will help to deliver better results for road users.

“These vans will provide consistent, high quality surface condition data at a scale never seen in New Zealand before, replacing the inefficient and manual on-the-ground inspections currently happening in many locations across the country.

“Manual inspections often lead to poorer data collection, variations as a result of human error, and increased risk to inspectors’ safety while working in traffic.

“Rolling out CCDC survey vans means we will have more on-demand data about our road network to early identify parts of the network that are in need of pothole prevention work. These vans will also enable consistent collection methods for all Road Controlling Authorities (RCAs) as they are rolled out and more widely used.

“CCDC survey vans are now undertaking surveys on local roads in Auckland, Christchurch, Tauranga, Western Bay of Plenty, Marlborough, Nelson, and Tasman. Over the next ten months, around 80,000 kilometres of local roads will be surveyed, providing high-quality surface condition data to RCAs across the country to reduce the number of potholes on our roads.

“To deliver the critical resealing, rehabilitation and drainage maintenance work that will be required to prevent potholes on our roads, the Government has delivered a record 91 per cent funding boost for pothole prevention on the State Highway network and a 50 per cent funding boost for pothole prevention on local roads.”

Initiatives like the CCDC are key to delivering on NZTA’s first performance and efficiency plan that is required in response to the Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024.

“The Performance and Efficiency Plan will ensure that NZTA is focused on getting back to basics and achieving value for money with every dollar spent, focusing on fixing and preventing potholes and delivering the roads our country needs.

“Nice-to-haves have resulted in NZTA funding expensive business cases and choosing project designs which have never been used in New Zealand, adding complexity to projects and leading to significant cost blow-outs and project delays.

“Our Government is focused on delivering better outcomes for New Zealanders and enabling them to get where they want to go, quickly and safely.”

Notes:

• The Performance and Efficiency Plan is available on the NZTA website.
• There will be five CCDC survey vans across the country. One will cover Auckland and Northland, one will cover the central North Island, one will cover the lower North Island and the top of the south, one will cover the rest of the South Island, and another will shortly be added to the fleet.
• Automated pavement condition inspections of all sealed roads will be required to be undertaken at least every second year and high-class roads will be undertaken annually.
• Pavement condition measurements taken by the CCDC survey vans must include roughness, rutting, texture, cracking, and geometry, and be undertaken by a certified supplier using accredited equipment which has satisfactorily applied an ongoing quality assurance programme. 
   
• The CCDC survey vans are key to delivering on NZTAs first Performance and Efficiency Plan. These plans are commonly used overseas to ensure that transport investment achieves value for money.
• NZTA’s Performance and Efficiency Plan will ensure that NZTA takes a no-frills approach, through initiatives like standardising project designs so that critical infrastructure can be delivered faster at a lower cost. Since the release of the GPS 2024, state highway projects with a value over $50 million have been reviewed to find and remove features that are unnecessary. NZTA has found up to $140 million of potential savings to taxpayers as a result of this review, with many opportunities found across the country for design standardisation and greater use of night works.
• Under the Plan, NZTA will implement a new Integrated Delivery Model (IDM) to deliver on the Government’s long term maintenance outcomes. The new IDM will be implemented to package up maintenance work through a national directory managed in-house, rather than through the current approach which is often uncoordinated. This will ensure that all works on our state highways are planned together and delivered to maximise return on investment.
• The Plan also directs the Road Efficiency Group (REG), started under the previous National Government, to find efficiency in road maintenance spend, and support NZTA in reducing expenditure on road cones and temporary traffic management.

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