What is an NZTA Road Space Booking? The plain-English version
An NZTA Road Space Booking (RSB) is how you book a piece of state highway for the days and hours you'll be working on it. Your TMP says how you'll keep everyone safe; the booking says when and where. From 9 November 2026, NZTA needs bookings in myWorksites for every new state highway TMP, and the booking, not the TMP, is what lets you on the road.
Not the same as a council road space booking. Some councils run their own road space booking process, such as Christchurch City Council's booking form for generic TMPs (GTMPs). This page is about NZTA's Road Space Bookings for state highways in myWorksites. For a council's own process, see its page in our RCA Library.
On this page
Think of it like booking a sports field
Picture a council sports ground.
- Your club is allowed to run games there, and it has written down how it keeps players and spectators safe. That's your TMP. It says how.
- Being allowed to play doesn't make field 3 yours on Saturday. You still book it: field 3, Saturday, 9am to 12. That's the Road Space Booking. It says when and where.
- The council's booking calendar shows everyone's bookings, so two clubs don't turn up for the same field. That's the network map in myWorksites, and the Thursday meeting where NZTA sorts out clashes.
- On the day, you tell the groundsman when you're on the field, when you've packed up for the day, and when the season's over. That's Site Active, Site Clear and Complete.
- Book after the cut-off and someone else may already have the field. That's the 4pm Wednesday deadline.
The comparison isn't perfect, but it holds where it matters: being allowed to do the work and booking the road to do it are now two separate steps.
How a booking goes, step by step
- Early Access Request. For work on a state highway, tell NZTA as early as you can. It's a best guess, and NZTA's regional traffic management centre (the RTTMC) uses it to decide how involved it needs to be.
- Do your 3Cs, then design. Consult, cooperate and coordinate with anyone else working nearby who shares duties on that road (the 3Cs), and design the TMP to fit the region's RCA operating plan. If your Early Access Request shows NZTA needs a 3Cs meeting, the RTTMC gets in touch with you.
- Submit. A site-specific TMP goes in together with its bookings. A PARS (a reusable TMP for repeated work, once called a generic TMP) goes in first; once it's accepted, you make a booking for each job.
- Build the booking. What the work is and where, the impacts (stop/go, signs left out overnight, detours), the map from the first sign to the last, and any contingency days.
- Check for clashes and submit by 4pm on the Wednesday before the work week.
- NZTA looks at it at Thursday's coordination meeting. It's accepted, or the RTTMC gets in touch to talk it through.
- On the day, the STMS marks the site active, unattended or clear from a phone.
- When the whole job is done, the office completes the booking.
If plans change, edit the booking. It goes back to draft, and you submit it again.
Why NZTA is doing this
From NZTA's webinars and the myWorksites help pages:
- A live picture of the road. NZTA wants to know what's planned and what's actually out there right now, so it can run the network, down to the traffic signals.
- Fewer clashes. Everyone can see who's booked where, and booking early helps decide who gets the road when two jobs clash.
- Dates that can move without rewriting the TMP. Splitting the method (the TMP) from the schedule (the bookings) means a date change doesn't always need a TMP revision. That already works for PARS bookings; for site-specific TMPs, myWorksites says it's coming.
- Better information for drivers. NZTA uses bookings to tell the public about roadworks across a whole journey, which should mean fewer people stopping at your site to ask.
- Less paperwork in the end. The deployment spreadsheet and the emails around it are meant to go once bookings are well established.
What's changed from the old way
| What | The old way | With Road Space Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| Booking the road | A time and space booking: the RTTMC deployment spreadsheet, emailed to the RTTMC for each use of the TMP | A booking added to the TMP in myWorksites |
| Showing when and where | Layouts, often several for different times and parts of the job | One booking per site, with a schedule of impacts and a map |
| Changing dates | Update the time and space booking with the RTTMC | Edit the booking and submit it again; PARS bookings can change without a TMP revision |
| Coordinating with other work | Emails and spreadsheets, such as the deployment sheet and the IDC shared works spreadsheets | A network map of everyone's submitted bookings, with a clash check |
| What's out on site | Manual deployment sheets | The STMS updates the booking from a phone: active, unattended or clear |
The rule itself isn't new. Under the old process, NZTA already said a TMP was only valid for use when a confirmed time and space booking covered that exact date, time and place. What's new is where the booking lives and how much it shows.
In Wellington and Wairarapa, state highway TMPs go to the Wellington Transport Alliance, which now uses myWorksites, so bookings work the same way there.
Words you'll hear
- RSB: Road Space Booking.
- Impact: one traffic management arrangement inside a booking, such as stop/go during the day or signs left out overnight.
- Impact level: how much an impact affects traffic. High the road is closed. Medium capacity is reduced, such as stop/go or a lane closure. Low the road stays open, such as signs only or a shoulder closure.
- Unattended: TTM left in place with nobody there.
- Contingency: spare days booked in case of weather, labelled as contingency.
- RTTMC: NZTA's regional temporary traffic management centre, which looks at TMPs and bookings for most state highways ([email protected]).
- EAR: Early Access Request, the first heads-up to NZTA about work on a state highway.
- PARS: a reusable TMP for repeated work, such as maintenance, once called a generic TMP.
- Network map: the map in myWorksites showing everyone's bookings.
For what each role has to do, see NZTA Road Space Bookings on state highways: what designers, contractors and STMS need to know.
Questions
What is an NZTA Road Space Booking?
A booking in myWorksites for a stretch of state highway on set days and times. The TMP says how the work is done safely; the booking says when and where. NZTA needs them for every new state highway TMP from 9 November 2026.
Why did NZTA introduce Road Space Bookings?
To get a live picture of what's on the road, cut clashes between jobs, let dates move without always rewriting the TMP, give drivers better roadworks information, and in time replace the deployment spreadsheet.
Is NZTA's Road Space Booking the same as a council road space booking?
No. Some councils have their own road space booking process, such as Christchurch City Council's form for generic TMPs. NZTA's Road Space Bookings are for state highways in myWorksites. Auckland, Invercargill and Southland are piloting the same myWorksites bookings; every other council still uses its own process.
Is a Road Space Booking the same as a TMP?
No. The TMP is the plan for how the work is done safely. The booking reserves the road for the days and hours you'll be there. On a state highway you need both, and the booking is what lets you on the road.
How do I submit a Road Space Booking?
In myWorksites, add it to your TMP: describe the work and the road, add an impact for each traffic management arrangement, draw the map from the first sign to the last, then check for clashes and submit before 4pm on the Wednesday before the work week.
Sources
- NZTA, Guidelines for road space bookings, October 2026: https://nzta.govt.nz/assets/Roads-and-Rail/accessing-our-state-highways/nzta-guidelines-for-road-space-bookings-october-2026.pdf (checked 5 November 2026)
- NZTA, Full NZTA TTM process in myWorksites, webinar 1 slide pack, 22 October 2026: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/Roads-and-Rail/accessing-our-state-highways/RSB-webinar-1-slide-pack.pdf (checked 5 November 2026)
- NZTA, The end-to-end NZTA TTM process within myWorksites, webinar Q and A overview (22 October 2026): https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/Roads-and-Rail/accessing-our-state-highways/webinar-1-QA-overview.pdf (checked 5 November 2026)
- NZTA, Showcasing the new Road Space Booking functionality, webinar, 4 November 2026: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTSGBUjx46g (checked 5 November 2026)
- myWorksites Help Center, TMPs with Road Space Bookings: https://help.myworksites.co.nz/en/articles/16450884-tmps-with-road-space-bookings (checked 5 November 2026)
- NZTA, Managing access to the state highway (step 7, time and space booking; regions outside the RTTMC): https://nzta.govt.nz/roads-and-rail/accessing-our-state-highways/managing-access-to-the-state-highway (checked 5 November 2026)
- NZTA, Helpful resources and tools (RTTMC deployment spreadsheet): https://nzta.govt.nz/roads-and-rail/accessing-our-state-highways/helpful-resources-and-tools (checked 5 November 2026)
Last checked: 5 November 2026