Hamilton City Council
The Kahikatea Upgrade Project was a significant infrastructure initiative in Hamilton, requiring careful traffic management to minimise disruption. The Council wanted robust, evidence-based insights into how the works affected vehicle movements, both on designated detour routes and across the wider network.
Approach
- Virtual Gate Setup – Defined GPS-based entry and exit points to capture and track trips on targeted corridors.
- Trip Isolation and Categorisation – Extracted and classified trips along official detour routes as well as potential rat-running paths.
- Performance Analysis – Assessed traffic volumes, speeds, and congestion points to evaluate how well detours absorbed displaced traffic.
- Timeline Comparison – Analysed pre-construction, active works, and post-completion periods to measure both immediate and lasting impacts.
Impact
- Detour Effectiveness – Identified which routes managed diverted traffic effectively and which required adjustments.
- Rat-Running Hotspots – Mapped unofficial routes used to avoid congestion, enabling targeted enforcement or mitigation.
- Evidence for Future Projects – Provided a replicable, evidence-based framework for managing detours and minimising disruption in future infrastructure works.
By delivering a clear, longitudinal view of traffic behaviour, this project helped Hamilton City Council improve how it plans and manages major roadworks, making the city's transport network more resilient and efficient.