Mr Howard's double-deck cattle truck is out of action as it is stuck on Rawdon Island, forcing him to concentrate on the general freight side of the business using another truck off the island.

"You lose clients really quickly because you can't get the jobs," he said.

"It is a fair bit of money tied up just sitting there."

Mr Howard has been in communication with Port Macquarie-Hastings Council.

"After an informal meeting with council, I feel given the circumstances, council is trying to do the right thing to find a solution," he said.

The council closed the bridge to traffic on July 5 due to safety concerns.

Underwater inspections of bridges across the local government area after the floods found major structural issues with the pylons supporting Rawdon Island bridge.

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The bridge will only be reopened with a load limit when a number of safety conditions are met.

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council group manager of infrastructure planning Cameron Hawkins said the council was working closely with residents at both a community and individual level to cater for the needs of those impacted.

"This includes looking at options for further support for the impacted businesses and primary producers, and maintaining an open forum with the residents to understand what support is needed," he said.

The council has implemented several components of the risk mitigation and controls including working with Maritime NSW to close the waterways.

"We have also installed several aspects of the monitoring systems, with some further work to do here," Mr Hawkins said.

Preliminary data indicates there is no quick solution to improve the current bridge's condition.

"We are aiming to get a clearer picture of this from our survey data over the coming weeks," Mr Hawkins said.

"At this stage, it is still too early for us to determine load limits on the bridge."

The council is working with its consultants to develop a draft management and monitoring plan. Alternative access is also being thoroughly investigated.

"Maintaining the residents' safety is our key concern, but we appreciate that it is not ideal by any means, with the bridge being the sole access to the mainland," Mr Hawkins said.

"Thank you for the continued patience of the residents and for working with us. We understand this is not easy for you, and we are trying our best to mitigate the impacts caused on your daily lives. "

Residents and property owners are affected in a range of ways.

Mr Howard, for example, also has a 28 hectare property on the island, which is still recovering from the flood.

Some of his cattle are under agistment on a friend's property on the island, while Mr Howard has also paid for agistment off the island but has no way of moving the cattle there.

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