Blue Mountains businesses suffer as Mitchell’s Causeway fix not expected to reopen for as long as a year
Jenny Ly’s hopes and dreams are featured in her new steak and cheese pie, her latest attempt to revitalize her business.
Ly says there has been a huge drop in customers at Blackheath Bakery and Patisserie since the Great Western Highway at Victoria Causeway was closed on March 9 because the road was deemed unsafe.
“I’ve tried everything and nothing works,” Ly says. “Things are so bad that we are now testing new products to solve the problem.
“It seems like we barely survived COVID and now we’re back here. We’re working long hours and it’s not enough.”
Ly and her neighbors now face the possibility that the closure will last another year. The state government said on Friday it has a solution for the major east-west link and is expected to reopen between April and June 2027. A bridge structure will be built over the existing Mitchell Pass, supported by deep piles anchored into solid bedrock below.
The closure was initiated by engineers who detected serious cracks and ground movement in the stone causeway built by prisoners nearly 200 years ago. Road defects and swelling of the sandstone walls put the gorge at risk of collapse.
Since then motorists have had to detour, which could add 30 to 45 minutes to any route between Katoomba and Hartley. As a result, the duration of day trips to shops or school drop-offs has increased excessively, and trips between affected suburbs require extensive planning.
Ly’s business, at the head of Govetts Leap Road in Blackheath, is in the heart of the area’s business district and is one of many businesses deeply affected by the road closure. Another shop owner, Con Kazantzidis, said his daily commute has now more than doubled.
“What was once an 18-minute commute has now become a 47-minute commute,” he said.
“And the traffic never flows smoothly. Sometimes I find that I arrive at work much later than before, even though I allow enough time. It still takes too much time.”
Kazantzidis owns The Stray Whisker, which sells magazines and stationery, and said the circuitous commutes that have replaced a nearly straight line have negatively impacted his life.
“It was very frustrating. We can’t just come here with a day off for delivery or extra postage. We really have to think about it now, extra fuel, extra mileage,” he said.
“That’s ridiculous because it takes six minutes for a crow to fly. But we’re not crows and we don’t fly.”
To support local communities struggling with the lockdown, the small business grant scheme has been expanded, increasing grants from $10,000 to $25,000 for Mount Victoria, Hartley, Little Hartley and Hartley Vale.
The scheme has also been expanded to offer $10,000 to small businesses in Lithgow, Oberon and Blackheath.
According to candle shop owner Chimene Lambert, the grant could help alleviate a “5 to 10 percent” drop in customer activity.
“We used to have a lot of people coming through those areas to shop, and they can’t really do that anymore. It’s gotten a lot quieter overall.”
Lambert said tourist behavior was also changing, with increasing time required to travel to routes further west meaning people were splitting their road trips differently and occasionally passing towns such as Blackheath.
“People are going further west and they want to get there directly. If they’re another hour or so into their trip, they’re less likely to stop here. Everyone here has noticed a drop in sales.”
Like many business owners in Blackheath, Lambert was skeptical the road would reopen next year and said he thought a more realistic reopening window would be towards the end of 2027.
While major construction is scheduled to begin next month, the government has not yet announced how much the new crossing will cost taxpayers.
Jody Lee and Victoria Jefferys, who run Gleebooks bookshop in Blackheath, said the closure had become a “social nightmare”.
“The community here is divided. We’re going west a lot less, they’re coming here a lot less. Now when they come here, there’s a gap between them,” Jeffreys said.
“Little Hartley is a part of us and we are a part of them. And I feel like they’ve been forgotten because of what happened.”
Mostafa Rachwani is a Parramatta reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously a Community Affairs correspondent for Guardian Australia.Connect via email.
