The Great Western Highway, a vital link between western NSW and Sydney, has been closed at Victoria Pass for more than 100 days after cracks were found in a convict-era causeway.
While a detour to the rest of the Blue Mountains highway and another scenic route are open, the closure is having widespread consequences.
Wide load trucks cannot drive on either available route, forcing house frame manufacturer Westruss to cut off its supply to western Sydney housing developments.
The multi-generational business, which helped the 2000 Olympics build, has laid-off staff and is set to lose about $6 million in annual revenue.
Like many across the central west, Westruss general manager Leon Cheney fears the road could be closed for years.
"Transport companies will put the prices up to come out here ... and tourism will suffer," Mr Cheney told AAP at his warehouse in Orange.
"Everything will cop a bit of a hiding.
"But they can't just open an unsafe road either."
The closure and fuel costs have been a double whammy for Bathurst Community Transport, a subsidised service that takes elderly people and cancer patients to specialist appointments in Sydney.
While the service was still operating, some patients were skipping care rather than facing the longer trip, chief executive Kathryn Akre said.
The situation was deepening health inequity in the region, where geography and centralisation were already barriers, she said.
"Services like mine are trying to help deal with that inequity by getting people to where they need to go," Ms Akre told AAP.
The highway closure was having the same effect as a natural disaster for many small businesses, but some locals felt government support was not enough, Ms Akre said.
"How many businesses have to break and how many people have to break for them to support us?"
The NSW government announced a $3.5 million package in May, offering grants to small businesses in villages near Victoria Pass and several councils further west.
"This support will help our regional communities continue trading, welcoming visitors, and driving the agricultural and economic activity our state depends on," regional minister Tara Moriarty said.
But some communities have been left feeling disillusioned.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson met with affected business owners in May, claiming the road had long been neglected.
It was the kind of issue that could sway votes, Charles Sturt University political scientist Dominic O'Sullivan said.
"Credibility has always been One Nation's problem, but at the same time if people become so despondent and stop listening to the other parties, this may not matter," Professor O'Sullivan told AAP.
The state government is due to announce a design solution for the causeway later in June.
