THE recent closures of several major highways due to the state's bushfires have played havoc with local transport companies.
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The Oxley Highway remains closed between Brackendale Road and Forbes River Road, limiting trucks' ability to cart livestock and goods from Tamworth to the coast.
Meanwhile, the Nowendoc Road also remains closed, shutting off an alternative route to the coast.
Compounding the issue is the closure of the Armidale Road through to Ebor and Grafton, and the Old Glen Innes Road through to Grafton.
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McCulloch Bulk Haulage fleet allocator Matt Czepil said the road closures were "causing a knock-on effect" for his company.
"We've had to divert quite a few loads a few hours in different directions to get around these road closures," Mr Czepil said.
"At this stage, the diversions and road closures have been costing us anywhere from 36 to 48 hours per week.
"It's an unavoidable situation, but it is certainly making an impact on us."
Mr Czepil said the setbacks were also being felt by consumers.
"There's no doubt our clients are being impacted by this as well," he said.
"We are carting a variety of different products around the state and the bottom line is, it is taking longer to get there than it normally would and people need to prepare for that, for the time being."
Much like McCulloch, travel times have increased for stock transporters across the region due to the road closures.
However, Stockmaster Tamworth's Brad Varley said a recent reopening of the road to Casino had been "a big development".
"The closure to Grafton has been a big setback for us, especially because our B-doubles haven't been able to get through," Mr Varley said.
"But things have gotten a lot better since the road to Casino opened up.
"We have been really busy carting a lot of stock out that way and south into Victoria.
"For that route to Casino to be open again for us is really handy and has meant we haven't fallen too far behind with our deliveries."
Road users are urged to stay up to date with road closures by visiting the Live Traffic NSW website.
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
