27 SEPTEMBER 2016

A prize for ‘Project Team of the Year’ awarded to the Woolgoolga to Ballina Pacific Highway development team has made it into safe hands with a presentation this week to the local Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service.

The multi-disciplinary team won the prestigious award at the Roads and Maritime Services Celebrating our Values awards and the 2015 Transport Awards for work to complete planning activities and obtain project approval for the $4.36 billion upgrade.

General Manager Pacific Highway Bob Higgins said rather than use the gift voucher for a function, the team decided to donate the money to the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service in recognition of the ongoing commitment the Pacific Highway Program Office and the wider Roads and Maritime agency have to improving road safety on the highway.

“We are pleased to be able to support the enormously important work the rescue helicopter crews do by re-gifting the prize to this worthy group.

“These dedicated individuals regularly put their lives on the line to save others so this was just one way we could say thank you,” Mr Higgins said.

Roger Fry, Crew Chief from the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service said “the rescue service has been deployed hundreds of times over the history of the Service to motor vehicle collisions on the Pacific Highway to take people injured in crashes to hospital as quickly as possible”.

Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Duncan Gay said the team have had its outstanding work recognised by winning the award and by donating its prize money to such a worthwhile cause demonstrates even further why they deserved the award in the first place.

Since the start of the highway upgrade fatal crashes have continued to trend downwards. The number of people who die as a result of fatal crashes has halved from more than 50 a year to fewer than 25.

“We hope the work we are doing to upgrade the last 155 kilometres of the Pacific Highway will mean the rescue helicopter is needed much less frequently for crashes on the Pacific Highway in the future,” Mr Higgins said.

Media: ROADS AND MARITIME SERVICES MEDIA UNIT 8588 5999 or media@rms.nsw.gov.au