From earthquake rebuild to a 15-year partnership

Where it started

After the Canterbury earthquakes, the volume of work in Christchurch's road corridor went from a few hundred jobs a year to several thousand. The Council urgently needed a reliable way to facilitate, approve and monitor all of it while keeping the transport network safe and accessible.

Within 90 days the first version (TMPforCHCH) was live, built to give approval and oversight of traffic management plans so the rebuild could keep moving. That tool evolved to become myWorksites.

What it does for the Council today

Corridor management staff have a shared, real-time view of network activity. Conflicts get spotted earlier, works are coordinated more effectively, and disruption to the public is reduced. Rather than just processing permits, the Council and its contractors can make better decisions about what is happening across the network, and where work needs to pause or move because of competing demands for road space.

For low-impact work, contractors can use pre-approved methodologies instead of submitting an individual traffic management plan every time. They notify the Council of the location through myWorksites and that a pre-approved plan is being used.

Staff carry out assurance checks on site using the platform, and contractors, clients and programme owners are alerted straight away when an inspection has happened and whether anything needs fixing. Corridor management costs are recovered on a user-pays basis from those doing the work, rather than spread across all ratepayers.

What it does for residents

Information from myWorksites is published on the Council's own website, so residents can see what work is happening across the city at any time and how it affects the roads. People can find out for themselves what is going on in their neighbourhood. If they ring the Council instead, call centre staff have the same up-to-date picture in front of them.

Fifteen years on

Christchurch was the founding customer, and its staff have shaped the platform through years of feedback. Contractors in the city now sort out clashes directly with each other through the shared map, rather than relying on the Council to broker every conversation. The same platform now runs the entire state highway network and councils from Auckland to Southland.