New bridge proposal on its way
Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Pelly Bay (Apr 02/01) - The bureaucracy is going to have to work double time to ensure a bridge can be built here this year.
At stake is $400,000 from the Department of National Defence. They've promised the money to the Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA) if the bridge and a road can be completed within days of the arrival of the first sealift. That would allow a contractor hired to clean up the nearby DEW Line site can begin work on the three-year project.
The executive director of the Nunavut Impact Review Board has said they are willing to speed up the review process.
"Once this application is received, it will be given high priority," said Stephanie Briscoe, from her office in Cambridge Bay.
"It will not supersede anything we already have in our system ... but we do have the right to shorten the comment period."
After receiving an application requesting a permit, the board forwards the proponent's proposal to a group of relevant organizations who provide comment and feedback. That group has up to 45 days to review the project before it goes back before the board for a three-to-five day comment period.
A quorum of five of the eight board members is required to decide on one of four possible options: the project can proceed; further review is required; the application should be returned to the proponent for clarification; the project should be abandoned.
The current application is actually the second one put forward by the proponents. The first proposal was ordered to undergo a review because NIRB, acting on advice from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, felt the gravel and culvert design for a temporary bridge would interfere with fish habitat.
The new plan calls for a clear-span bridge that wouldn't impact fish habitat.
The issue has galvanized Kugaaruk/Pelly Bay residents. About 70 people attended an informal meeting organized by NIRB late last month.
One by one, community members expressed concerns about the road and bridge project and the impending DEW-line cleanup.
Many people said they were worried about toxins further contaminating the area, while many of the elders in attendance said they wanted to see the bridge become a permanent structure instead of a temporary one. It would give residents year-round access to the other side of the river where good fishing spots are located.
A permanent bridge would cost the government about $325,000, while the temporary clear-span model rings in at $135,000.
