Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Coral Harbour (Aug 22/01) - The bridge over the river Kerchoffer is finally a reality.

The Ananugarvik (to go back and forth) Bridge was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this month.

Coral Harbour Mayor Johnny Ningeongan says the hamlet has been attempting to get a bridge in place over the Kerchoffer River for many years.

Coral residents will use the bridge to access hunting and fishing grounds, and it will also be used for tourism.

Before the bridge, residents would have to travel about 24 kilometres inland to cross the river.

Ningeongan says the bridge makes it much easier for people who don't own boats to reach the fishing grounds.

He says the total cost of the project will be close to the $1-million mark.

"The community did its part by providing the infrastructure dollars to build a road to the river, which is roughly 11 kilometres from town," says Ningeongan.

"That was a big commitment on the part of the community and the end result was well worth the effort when we ended up with a much higher calibre of bridge than we had originally hoped."

Nunavut Housing Minister Manitok Thompson was on hand for the grand opening, as were Sustainable Development Minister Olayuk Akesuk and GNWT Transportation Minister Jim Antoine.

The bridge is 85.3 metres long, 3.5 metres wide and came in five sections, which were put in place by hydraulic jacks.

Ningeongan says the vast majority of funding for the bridge came from the GNWT, with the lion's share courtesy of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA).

The rest came from the NWT Department of Transportation.

"The Nunavut government chipped in some money to help build a road from the bridge to the closest fishing grounds.

"We now have about 48 kilometres of road all together from the hamlet to where the road ends at the fishing grounds past the bridge."