MetService to supply road weather information to New Zealand road alliance

The Milford Road Alliance, a partnership between the New Zealand Transport Agency and Downer NZ to ensure the safe and efficient management of activities on State Highway 94, is to implement new and enhanced weather forecast services from MetService. Climbing through the Southern Alps, State Highway 94 is one of the highest highways in New Zealand. It includes the Milford Road which stretches from Te Anau through Fiordland National Park to Milford Sound and the high-altitude alpine conditions, a steep and r
May 9, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The Milford Road Alliance, a partnership between the 6296 New Zealand Transport Agency and Downer NZ to ensure the safe and efficient management of activities on State Highway 94, is to implement new and enhanced weather forecast services from MetService


Climbing through the Southern Alps, State Highway 94 is one of the highest highways in New Zealand. It includes the Milford Road which stretches from Te Anau through Fiordland National Park to Milford Sound and the high-altitude alpine conditions, a steep and rugged terrain that can be beset by floods and avalanches, can pose significant risks.

To keep the road safely open as much as possible, the Alliance operates specialised weather and environmental data acquisition devices at both road and mountain levels. Information from these systems is supplied to MetService forecasters to provide regular expert interpretation.

For the 2017 winter season, MetService is providing the Alliance with several new and enhanced forecast services, including severe weather threat matrices covering the threat of snow, strong winds, and heavy rain with free air freezing level (FAFL). In addition, animating rainfall, snow and cloud ceiling forecast maps are being provided.  Site-specific rainfall and temperature probability forecasts complete the picture in term of value-added forecast services, while significant improvements to the distribution and communication of data and forecasts have been made.

The new services complement those currently provided by MetService to the Alliance and are designed to assist informed decision-making about the management of the road at an operational level including mitigating the risks posed by avalanches.

Air Quality & Weather Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Crash course in workzone safety
    April 26, 2021
    A vehicle crashing through a workzone is an ever-present risk. As US National Work Zone Awareness Week approaches, Alan Dron asks what chance there is of improving the situation
    Read More
  • On-vehicle weather monitoring from Lufft
    June 3, 2015
    Why have one weather station when you can have 10 vehicle-mounted units? That’s the message coming from Lufft’s booth at ITS America’s 25th Annual Meeting and Expo. Thomas Stepke, CEO of Lufft USA, said 10 of its vehicle-mounted Mobile Advanced Road Weather Information Systems (MARWIS) can be purchased for the price of one traditional static unit. “With ten sensory moving around the roads, an authority can build up a more comprehensive picture of road conditions in an area than a single stationary sensor,”
    Read More
  • Autonomous vehicles will not prevent half of real-world crashes
    April 5, 2017
    Alan Thomas of CAVT looks at the reality behind the safety claims fuelling the drive towards autonomous vehicles
    Read More
  • Dynamic lane closures cuts time, cost and congestion on Motorway roadworks
    March 17, 2014
    A combination of technologies is leading to major congestion and cost reductions during roadworks on the UK’s motorway network. Innovative construction programme scheduling technology and the deployment of moveable barriers has achieved substantial savings of money and time on UK motorway roadworks managed by the Highways Agency (HA). This combination has set the scene for a new generation of road usage analysis tools. The HA’s objective was to reduce the congestion caused by lane closures during roa
    Read More

Highlighted Content