Drawing on AT’s existing climate and geospatial data, including roading and public transport asset information, WSP experts in asset management, climate resilience, sustainability, transport planning and engineering collaborated closely with AT to develop the framework.
A programme business case was also done as part of the work, which costed out a 10-year investment programme for AT's roads, structures and public transport assets.
The framework uses AT’s existing asset and hazard data layers to show which of Auckland’s transport assets are most exposed to hazards such as landslides, flooding, coastal erosion, and storm events, prioritising where proactive investment in resilience could have the greatest impact.
Developed between October 2025 and March 2026, Auckland-based WSP Asset Management Engineer Shahaanan Arulgnanapragasam says the framework helps show AT where proactive maintenance work can avoid much higher costs of reactive maintenance.
Using prevention and cost assessment data that AT completed after Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, analysis of the framework’s programme shows a proactive spend of $677 million over ten years could potentially avoid up to $5.7 billion in reactive recovery costs, or about $8.50 for every $1 invested.
That same proactive investment would avoid reactive earthworks, fill haulage, material consumption, transport emissions, waste generation, and wider environmental and social impacts from emergency recovery and reconstruction after flooding and landslides.
Auckland Transport Head of Science and Sustainability Ashishika Sharma says the framework and business case has supported how AT plans to seek funding for current and future resilience and climate risk-related works on the network.
“It's a robust evidence base through which we have found considerable potential savings for our asset management planning and budgeting.”
Shahaanan says one of the most surprising insights through the assessment process was how quickly the work moved beyond individual roads to the wider systems they support.
“A road might not look critical from a patronage point of view, but it could be the only way to access a power station or another important piece of infrastructure. That’s where cascading risks become really interesting. You quickly realise resilience isn’t just about one asset, but about how everything connects.”
The framework and business case illustrates the growing importance of making earlier, data-led decisions. It also reflects a growing area of work as councils and transport agencies grapple with the effects of climate change and face increasing pressure to better manage and maintain their assets.
Auckland Transport provides services to 1.6 million people across 7,452 kilometres of road, 7,137 kilometres of footpaths, more than 325 kilometres of cycle lanes, 41 railway stations, 21 ferry facilities and 16 bus stations.
More information about the resilience framework and programme can be found on the Āpōpō and Taituarā websites.
