The main road through the region will be closed for at least another year. Communities who rely on it say they’re already at breaking point
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When Fran* finishes a late nursing shift in the Blue Mountains, there is no comfort in driving home. Since the Victoria Pass closed on the Great Western Highway this year, her 45-minute commute has ballooned to two hours.
Desperate to avoid the journey, Fran – a New South Wales Nurses and Midwives Association member from the Lithgow hospital branch – sometimes sleeps at a free local campground with cold showers.