In its short three years of operation, RoadAid has made its mark in providing maintenance and operational support for roads and tunnels across the country.
RoadAid is redefining the standard for road and tunnel maintenance across Australia’s transport infrastructure.
Since its origins in 2022, the company has rapidly grown into a trusted name for high-risk and high-compliance environments, offering end-to-end services that range from planned closures and emergency response to skilled labour supply and operational consulting.
Founded by an industry veteran, RoadAid emerged successful from a moment of crisis that became an opportunity for transformation.
In the wake of Brisbane’s devastating floods, which submerged the Breakfast Creek Tunnel and caused widespread infrastructure damage, Chris Couldrey, Director and Founder of RoadAid saw not just a challenge, but a chance to build something different.
“At that point I had spent over a decade with Transurban Operations,” Couldrey recalls.
“When I thought about starting my own business, I knew I wanted to bring a fresh approach to tunnel operations and maintenance, one that focused on people, safety, and delivering reliable service every time.”
Restoring Breakfast Creek Tunnel became a pivotal project in the history and foundation of RoadAid.
With water damage taking out key systems, from traffic monitoring to pump operations, Couldrey and a small team spent seven months on-site, assisting with critical repairs works in the tunnel and proving their capability to clients and contractors alike. It wasn’t long before the word spread.
Since the early days, RoadAid has now grown into a multi-state operation delivering specialist maintenance and labour hire services across Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales, with ambitions to expand further.
People first
One of the first team members to come onboard was David Lightfoot, Service Delivery Coordinator Queensland for RoadAid.
Lightfoot joined RoadAid as a 40-year industry veteran and as a ground crew member on the Breakfast Creek Tunnel remediation works.
Today, Lightfoot leads the company’s Queensland operations.
“While Chris manages from the office, I enjoy being the person on the ground, building connections with the work and the team,” he says.
“I stayed because of the culture. From day one, the values were clear, this company was built the right way.”
RoadAid’s values are embedded in every aspect of its work.
Its acronym S.H.I.R.T. stands for Safety, Honesty, Integrity, Respect, Teamwork, which Lightfoot says is more than just a slogan.
“It is really a framework for how we operate as a team,” says Lightfoot.
“These values are imprinted in the business to ensure our workers are happy and align with our values.”
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From learning modules to leadership decisions, everything filters through these principles.
“Our goal is to create a workplace where people genuinely want to show up each day and we do that by giving them the right tools, a strong support system, and a clear purpose,” says Lightfoot.
“Something that makes them want to get out of bed in the morning and come back with energy.”
Couldrey says he wanted to foster a culture which cares about getting the job done on time and safely.
“Our people are our greatest product. I believe that when you invest time and effort into your team, it creates a culture of pride and professionalism that is reflected in the quality of service we deliver every day” he says.
To that end, RoadAid has invested heavily in workforce development.
Through its Learning Management System, team members complete tailored training when joining the team, including a custom “Tunnel 101” module designed by Couldrey himself.
The module system is designed to equip every staff member with deep knowledge of tunnel systems including how they’re built, common devices and their purpose, and how those devices are designed to work.
“After using the LMS, workers arrive on site ready, confident, informed, and aligned with RoadAid’s standards,” he says.
Safety is key
Innovation, safety and practicality go hand-in-hand at RoadAid. Recognising a gap in worksite clarity, Couldrey introduced the use of pink vests to be used for plant and confined space safety observers (or spotter).
“The pink vests highlight who the safety representative is on site, so when someone walks onto a site, they immediately know who to go to,” he says.
“It enhances communication and ensures a safer environment for everyone, it is simple but very effective and has been praised many times by safety officers on multiple projects.”
In addition to the pink vest, every RoadAid vehicle is equipped with defibrillators and full first-aid kits, underlining the company’s commitment to rapid response, proactive health and safety management.
“We want to be prepared for the unlikely event where if something happens and we need it close by, we are ready to go,” he says.
The company’s reward and recognition program further supports a culture of ownership and mutual respect. During which team members are encouraged to nominate their peers who go above and beyond on the job, reinforcing the idea that at RoadAid everyone contributes to success, not just upper management.
“It reinforces our mission to always work as a team,” reflects Couldrey.
“We are one team, we work together to get the job done and we all support each other to achieve our goals.”
For Couldrey, that’s the ultimate source of pride.
“I started this company alone,” he says.
“Now we’re a national team making a real impact, thanks to our incredible state leaders,people and culture manager, and the account team who make it all possible.”
From a single flood-ravaged tunnel to a national infrastructure partner, RoadAid has grown steadily and deliberately.
Today, RoadAid is recognised as a trusted partner in road and tunnel infrastructure, supporting asset owners and maintenance principles with reliable maintenance support. They have secured contracts on major projects including Airport Link Tunnel, CityLink, North East Link, and other critical infrastructure across Australia’s east coast.
“We’ve relied heavily on word-of-mouth, and we believe we are progressing in the right direction,” Couldrey says.
Looking ahead, the company is set to expand its maintenance division into new markets, including South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia, while further extending the reach of its road operations consultancy services.
Couldrey also envisions a broader role in the transport industry, not just as a service provider, but as a collaborative partner.
“We are aiming to build relationships with key stakeholders across the industry and create a collaborative platform where we can bring together transport sectors across road, rail, operations, and maintenance, to openly discuss shared challenges, best practices, and future improvements,” he says.
“We will continue to collaborate with local partners because we know we can add value, not just to their operations, but to their clients also.”
This collaborative spirit reflects RoadAid’s commitment to progress, not just for itself, but for the industry as a whole.
As RoadAid continues to expand and evolve, one thing is clear: this is a company built not just to serve the infrastructure of today, but also to help shape the roads and the workforce of tomorrow.”
This article was originally published in the October edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here.
