LINZ Geodetic Annual Programme 2010 - 2011

Each year, LINZ undertakes geodetic survey control and mark maintenance project. These are carried out on LINZ’s behalf by contractors selected through an open tender process.

The tender process for the 2010/11 geodetic control and maintenance programmes is currently under way with successful tenderers selected and contracts signed by the end of June. Planning and field work (weather permitting) will commence soon after with all contracts due for completion in the first half of 2011.

This year’s Geodetic Control Programme is made up of more than 2500 marks located from Parengarenga Harbour in the Far North to Temuka in South Canterbury, while the Geodetic Maintenance Programme is made up of 250 marks also from the Far North extending down to Southland.

Geodetic Control Programme

The 2010/11 programme will continue the progress started in last year’s programme, focusing on urban areas where many of the geodetic control marks were installed decades ago. Previous work in these types of areas has found that many of these marks have been destroyed over time or are no longer in an appropriate location, for example in carriageways, making them virtually unusable due to modern traffic flows. In these situations, control is being re-established in more accessible and practical locations.

In addition, control is also being extended in developing urban and rural areas with marks being established at densities from 200 metres to 2 kilometres, depending on parcel size.

Geodetic Maintenance Programme

Maintaining beacons and protection structures on prominent and often used geodetic control marks to ensure their ongoing availability, and safety to surveyors and other control network users, will be the focus of this year’s programme.

The programme also includes an inventory service that serves as a check on the reliability and access details of other important geodetic control points. This year the inventory work will cover the bench mark run from Whanganui to Hawera.

LINZ uses information from its own systems and databases such as Landonline to determine geodetic marks that require maintenance. We are heavily reliant on surveyors, other network users and the general public to provide feedback and report on any marks, beacons or protection structures that are damaged, in an unstable condition or present a health and safety risk.

LINZ also relies on this ongoing feedback from geodetic network users to assist in planning future work programmes. Notifications of marks requiring maintenance, or areas needing additional geodetic control, can be made at any time via the LINZ website.