Kris Croft: Bruce Highway Upgrade team shine a light on mental health and wellbeing

During May, the Bruce Highway Upgrade – Caloundra Road to Sunshine Motorway (CR2SM) project is participating in Mental Health Awareness Month, raising awareness about the importance of looking after our mental health and wellbeing.

To shine a light on suicide awareness and prevention, the project has provided Trade Mutt PPE shirts for all employees. This funky clothing is a great catalyst to start a conversation about mental health and wellbeing among the workforce, taking a more fun, light-hearted approach to a serious and important topic.

Amanda Yeates, Transport and Main Roads Infrastructure Management and Delivery Deputy Director-General, said “I have been a supporter of the Trade Mutt initiative for a while now, and appreciate the importance they have in raising awareness for such a significant topic, particularly in this industry. With these shirts, the CR2SM workers will start conversations, not just on site, but within the local community.”

Suicide rates in the construction industry are some of the highest in Australia. According to Mates in Construction (MIC), every year 190 Australians working in this industry take their own lives. This means our workers are over two times more likely to take their own lives than other Australian men.

Project Director of CR2SM, Brad Thompson said the shirts also hit a personal note for many. “Having worked in the industry for a number of years now, I know firsthand how we can all be touched by suicide in some way,” he said.

In conjunction with Trade Mutt and MIC, CR2SM hopes to reduce the stigma around discussions about suicide.

The CR2SM project is funded on an 80/20 basis with the Australian Government contributing $650.36 million and the Queensland Government contributing $162.59 million. The project is being delivered by a joint venture between Fulton Hogan and Seymour Whyte on behalf of Transport and Main Roads.

This project is part of the 15-year Bruce Highway Upgrade Program, a $12.6 billion program of works to improve safety, flood resilience and capacity along the Bruce Highway from Brisbane to Cairns. The program is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments, with the Australian Government contributing $10 billion and the Queensland Government contributing $2.6 billion.