Programme - day one 2024

REGISTRATION, TEA AND COFFEE

TRADE EXHIBITION OPEN

MIHI WHAKATAU

WELCOME FROM THE MC

Maurice Hoban – GHD

LEADERSHIP

MINISTERIAL ADDRESS 

The roading network is at the core of the new government’s priorities around improving our infrastructure. We need to move ahead as a country that is connected both in urban centres and in the regions with a fit-for-purpose and high-functioning transport network. To this end the Government has announced thirteen new RONS projects and allocated additional funding to road maintenance and improvements. 

• funding and financing. Modernising the Crown’s finance governance to allow for more private funding 
• congestion needs to be reduced in high-growth areas which will help to reduce emissions
• local government funding 
• reducing waste around time and resources spent on broader outcomes 
• RONS update 

Hon Simeon Brown – Minister of Transport, Minister of Local Government, Minister for Auckland

LEADERS’ PANEL: LOOKING TO NEXT YEAR’S WORK PROGRAMME 

What is the next step for industry under the new government? 

With a new government in place and a strong focus on roading infrastructure, how will the next three years look for the roading industry? Priorities and investment have shifted but what does this mean for councils and contractors? And is ‘doing more with less’ still happening, or is it more about finding efficiencies and doing what can be done?

• unpacking the NLTP 
• paring back broader outcomes, or finding better efficiencies? 
• alternative financing and investment models 
• lowering compliance costs 
• current state of the consenting and fast-track consenting processes 

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: STATE OF PLAY AND OUR NEW DIRECTION

With a new government, chair and GPS on land transport well bedded in, the country’s transport agency now sets about its work. So what does this look like for our roading network and where are some of the previous initiatives now placed?

• key priorities for the state highway network
• RONS projects
• looking towards 2025
• the application of new technologies across NZTA
• importance of working with local government

MORNING TEA AND NETWORKING

EXHIBITION HALL PRESENTATIONS

Expo Theatre 2

INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIR

Wayne Stewart – principal project director, WSP

WHY MAJOR ROADING PROJECTS SHOULD BE PROACTIVELY MAPPING UNDERGROUND UTILITIES AT THE DESIGN AND CONCEPT PHASE

Sam Wiffen – CEO and founder, Reveal

FOCUS | MATERIALS

Main Plenary

FOCUS | PROCUREMENT

Expo Theatre 1

INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIR

Mike Chilton – technical adviser, Aggregate & Quarry Association

INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIR

Angela Hirst – procurement & corporate services manager, Hastings District Council

PANEL DISCUSSION: SOURCING RECYCLED AGGREGATES FOR YOUR PAVEMENT

Recycled aggregates provide a number of advantages over virgin materials when delivering a quality pavement. It has been demonstrated that recycled aggregates have reduced emissions and can provide superior performance. As councils have gained experience with recycled aggregates in pavement construction, it has increasingly become a focus area on reducing Scope 3 emissions.

Councils and the wider industry are working more collaboratively to deliver infrastructure that is more sustainable. One of the big challenges is where to source these materials, ensuring only quality products are supplied and having the whole supply chain engaged in delivering outcomes. In this panel we take a closer look at:

• the role of recycled aggregates in your roading materials strategy. The role of emission reduction targets
• de-risking the final outcome. What specifications and processes are required to ensure success?
• availability, where to source and how this can impact the cost equation
• road types suited to recycled aggregates and what the specs say – high volume, low volume, State Highways
• sustainability outcomes and how to communicate these to your stakeholders
• the availability of recycling centres for raw inputs and how the waste minimisation levy is changing behaviour

Panelists:
Dave Morgan – Green Vision Recycling
Peter Fredricsen – Rotomara Contractors
Murray Burt – Auckland Transport

Facilitator:
Stacy Goldsworthy – Winstone Aggregates

PROCUREMENT UPDATE: NZ TRANSPORT AGENCY WAKA KOTAHI 

The national transport agency is overhauling procurement across its roading spend under the new Infrastructure Procurement Strategy and Integrated Delivery Model.  

This will see the incumbent NOC model for state highway maintenance procurement replaced and a more system-wide and regionalised approach. There will be impacts and opportunities for local government, contractors and consultants. 

Alison Murray – head of procurement, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi

PROJECT OVERVIEW: TE UTANGANUI AND THE MANAWATŪ REGIONAL FREIGHT RING ROAD

Te Utanganui - the Central New Zealand Distribution Hub - is a unique intermodal distribution hub in Manawatū. It is well served by international ports and is the only place in New Zealand where road, rail and air transport options are immediately adjacent to each other. Several infrastructure projects either planned or underway, combine to establish Te Utanganui as the primary distribution and transport hub for central New Zealand.  One such project is the Manawatū Regional Freight Ring Road. Palmerston North City Council is leading the investigation and planning for this significant transport infrastructure investment that will move heavy transport away from the city centre and better link the freight network of Te Utanganui to the existing State Highway network.

• how the project links to and supports the wider freight network
• economic benefits of investing in freight and logistics infrastructure
• multi-agency collaboration to deliver an integrated programme of projects
• key challenges to delivering the ring road
• financing considerations including new financing models

Robbie Woods - programme director, Te Utanganui

CHANGES TO STATE HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE 

The new Integrated Delivery Model for state highway maintenance is set to be rolled out in early 2025. Significant changes are afoot, with a focus on efficiencies and a closer working relationship with local communities. 

• how the IDM works and what this means for your organisation – contractor, consultancy, local government, supplier 
• moving towards a new approach to Temporary Traffic Management 
• 24-hour pothole repair 
• efficiencies gained through road closures for major maintenance and repairs (case study – Central Waikato)

Andrew Clark – national manager maintenance & operations, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi

Andrew will also be hosting a Round Table discussion on Day Two for extended Q&A and discussion on this subject. See the Day Two programme for more information.

THE APPLICATION OF TIME-OF-USE CHARGING IN AUCKLAND CITY

• Auckland Council and AT are jointly developing the detailed policy and design of a Time Of Use Charging (TOUC) Scheme for Auckland.
• This work will inform Council’s submission to Government’s Select Committee when it reviews the draft enabling legislation, expected in early 2025.
• The Scheme intends to reduce congestion by charging motorists for driving on the most congested parts of Auckland’s inner road network with costs varying by the time of travel.
• Addressing equity concerns through design choices, mitigations and revenue allocation is a key element of the design process.

Michael Roth - lead transport advisor, Auckland Council

REDUCING MATERIALS COSTS: ALTERNATIVES TO THE M/4 SPEC 

It is a common misconception that you need to use the M/4 gravel specification in all instances. In fact this can lead to increased costs carting expensive virgin aggregates all over the country. So what are the other options? 

• overseas developments relevant to New Zealand 
• alternatives to M/4  
• incorporating local materials into your specs 
• sustainability considerations 
• New Zealand case studies of alternatives and how they’ve performed to date 

Bryan Pidwerbesky – technical director - pavements and materials, Fulton Hogan

UPDATE ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT  

Where is government procurement heading and how will the new government procurement rules impact the roading sector and what does the new framework look like?  

• what were our key drivers for change? 
• new procurement behaviours being encouraged 
• how will agile, faster procurement be supported by the new framework? 

Laurence Pidcock – general manager NZ Government Procurement, MBIE 

AUCKLAND TRANSPORT: FUTURE INVESTMENT PROGRAMME AND PARTNERING WITH INDUSTRY

The country’s largest city has ambitious plans for its transport network with projected spending of $16 billion over the next 10 years.

With population growth, traffic is forecast to increase on key arterial roads from around 28,000 vehicles per day to in excess of 35,000. 

The 10-year transport investment programme includes significant investment in road asset renewals, together with a range of road network enhancements such as intelligent intersections, dynamic lanes, special vehicle lanes, and network demand pricing. 

Auckland Transport is seeking to partner with industry to deliver roading renewals and new capital projects ‘better, faster, cheaper’.  To this end it is seeking innovative ideas around material-use and road-construction methods to reduce embodied carbon and the cost of temporary traffic management.

Murray Burt – director infrastructure & place, Auckland Transport

NETWORKING LUNCH IN THE EXHIBITION AREA

EXHIBITION HALL PRESENTATIONS

Expo Theatre 2

12.50pm

DOWSING GROUP’S DIVERSIFIED CIVIL EXPERTISE FOR FUTURE-READY ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

Dowsing Group, an Australian-owned civil construction contractor with over 35 years of industry experience, will present its approach to enhancing road infrastructure in alignment with the evolving needs of communities across Australia and New Zealand. With local expertise in slipform, diamond grinding, kerbing, and civil services, Dowsing has established itself as a trusted partner for infrastructure projects. This presentation will highlight Dowsing's capabilities, its journey from footpath construction to a diversified infrastructure specialist, and its commitment to delivering integrated solutions that not only improve roadways but also future-proof infrastructure for lasting community impact.

Jovan Trajanoski - Dowsing

FOCUS | MATERIALS

Main Plenary

FOCUS | TECHNOLOGY & LOGISTICS

Expo Theatre 1

WELCOME BACK FROM THE CHAIR

Mike Chilton – technical adviser, Aggregate & Quarry Association

INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIR

Kahn Day – ITS engineer - TTOC, Tauranga City Council

THE NEW ZEALAND BITUMEN SUPPLY CHAIN AND CONSIDERATIONS AROUND COST, QUALITY AND AVAILABILITY

The bitumen landscape has changed significantly since the closure of Marsden Point and exit from the market of Z Energy. In this presentation we hear about the bitumen supply chain as it stands today, where it is headed and considerations for the roading industry.

• current importing, storage, blending/treatment and distribution
• room for another bitumen importer
• NZTA’s role and whether its import specifications are too rigid
• current pricing, where is it heading and international benchmarks 

Sean Bearsley - national bitumen operations manager, Higgins
Mark Ford - general manager bitumen, Fulton Hogan
Doug Carrasco - general manager Road Science, Downer

ACHIEVING SKID RESISTANCE WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE QUALITY OF YOUR PAVEMENT 

There are a range of factors to consider in incorporating skid resistance into your road surface specification – cost, material availability, pothole risk, durability and lifecycle. 

• using hot chip to achieve texture without reducing waterproofing through watercutting
• using a flushing model to help determine pavement end-of-life
• reducing short term SCRIM sealing by promoting the use of aggregate performance data
• cost considerations around using broken faces to provide skid resistance
• and what the alternatives are 

Peter Robinson - principal asset engineer safety | asset management planning, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi

HARNESSING ADVANCED TRANSPORT DATA SOURCES: INSIGHTS FROM HAMILTON
 

Hamilton City Council will share its experiences with some of the latest transport data sources. The presentation will cover telemetry data from providers such as Near, ERoad, TomTom, and CompassIoT, alongside video analytics for safety assessments from AMAG and Vivacity, drone surveys by Urban Connection, and mid-block multi-mode surveys by Opito.

Additionally, you’ll hear about its recent trial of over 15 different traffic counting technologies to see if there is a viable alternative to traditional pneumatic tube surveys.

This session will provide practical insights into these data sources and how they are being used to improve transport operations and planning in Hamilton.

Dale Townsend – senior data scientist, City Transport, Hamilton City Council

INTERNATIONAL SPEAKER: DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW LIME-BASED BINDER BLEND FOR SOIL STABILISATION APPLICATIONS

There exists an interest globally to identify eco-friendly alternatives to traditional binders such as cement and lime for soil stabilisation. This case-study presents the development of engineered low carbon cementitious binders that can permanently modify and strengthen a broad spectrum of soil types. The newly developed binder utilises the well-established principles of modifying clayey soils using lime and integrates a synergistic blend of naturally sourced pozzolanic materials with lime and limestone fines to optimise both mechanical and environmental performance.

• lowering plasticity of soils
• comparisons to cement for 7- and 28-day unconfined compressive strength (UCS)
• comparisons to quicklime
• lowering the volume of binder used
• feasibility and optimal composition of the binder for treatment of other soil types

Narain Hariharan – new products and applications manager, Graymont

ADVICE FOR COUNCILS CONSIDERING INTERSECTION UPGRADES AND NEW SIGNALS DEPLOYMENTS: THE QUEENSTOWN SH6 EXPERIENCE

Katie Dugan - traffic signals engineer, WSP

THE FUTURE OF THE TRANSPORT REVENUE SYSTEM

The Government has set out its priorities for the transport system over the next 10 years via the Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024-34 (GPS 2024).

The Ministry of Transport is developing advice for the Government on the revenue work programme, looking at how we raise the revenue that will be needed to deliver the ambitious investment programme.

In this presentation we hear about the progress on the work programme, including work the Ministry has done on the Future of the Revenue System, and the specific actions in the GPS 2024 to:

• transition the petrol vehicle fleet into road user charges
• reform tolling legislation, and to toll all new state highway projects where practical
• introduce legislation to enable time of use charging to improve network efficiency and reduce congestion

Matt Skinner – manager, revenue, Ministry of Transport

THE CASE FOR CONCRETE ROADS

This year Infometrics updated The Case For Concrete Roads report, most recently revised in 2020. Economist Gareth Kiernan will present the report’s findings, in comparing the costs of building concrete and conventional roads, and making observations on relative price volatility, and carbon footprint. This marks the formal release of the report, commissioned by Concrete NZ.

Gareth Kiernan – chief forecaster and operations director, Infometrics

iPAVE AND DATA REFORM, THE NEXT GENERATION OF PAVEMENT ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 

The National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO) will be bringing their next generation of Intelligent Pavement Assessment Vehicle (iPAVe4) to New Zealand later this year to commence a 6+ year data collection contract on our State Highway Network. NTRO are keen to share the capability of iPAVe4, how it supports effective asset management, and share some insights into future opportunities. This discussion will include:

• brief history of the Traffic Speed Deflectometer (TSD) in NZ and its evolution to iPAVe4
• what does the iPAVe4 collect and measure
• how will iPAVe4 improve asset management capabilities
• future of data management

Neil Beckett – principal professional leader, asset performance, NTRO

AFTERNOON TEA AND NETWORKING

DRIVING MORE VALUE OUT OF YOUR ROAD MAINTENANCE CONTRACT: HIGGINS

Higgins is one of the largest full-service roading contractors in New Zealand providing roading maintenance and construction, asphalt products, and the importation and supply of bitumen. It is part of the Fletcher Building group. 

New general manager Andrew McRae returns from a long stint in Australia and provides an update on the group and its key priorities moving ahead, and advice around what road owners can do to better leverage their investment. 

• placing downwards price pressure on non-essential contract items 
• trends we’re seeing in procurement and advice for models that work 
• how we leverage and sub in local contractors 
• benefits of vertical integration in the Fletcher Group – aggregates, cement, concrete 
• bitumen supply and asphalt production capacities across Higgins 

Andrew McRae – general manager, Higgins

ROAD USERS’ PANEL 

The heavy vehicle and public transport sectors are important stakeholders in the roading network. Changes are afoot in this area in terms of user-pays models, electrification and changing modes of transport, and vehicle weights. In this panel we take a look at: 

• current fleet trends 
• changes in average trip distances and routes and the impact of technology 
• driver behaviour 
• roads/regions we avoid and our wishlist for the network 

Panelists 

Delaney Myers – Bus and Coach Association
Andrew McGill – Auckland Transport
Mathew Sheldrake – Sheldrake Haulage
Ian Wilson – J Swap

Facilitator:
Billy Clemens – Transporting NZ 

INTERNATIONAL SPEAKER: HOW DO WE FIX OUR LOCAL ROADS?  

An analysis of the Australian situation, based on 20 years of data, followed by recommendations to government on how to fix local roads and give communities the roads they need. More funding is important but the sustainable, long-term solution lies in better asset management. 

Jacqui Hansen – senior asset management advisor, IPWEA 

WRAP-UP – END OF DAY 1

Maurice Hoban – GHD

NETWORKING DRINKS

FUTURE ROADS DINNER

The ticketed dinner will feature a three-course meal, great networking, entertainment, and awards.

Guest MC: Justine Smith

Justine appears by arrangement with Johnson & Laird Management.