Yellowknife (Mar 30/05) - Construction of the $60 million Mackenzie River bridge won the approval of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister Andy Scott and is now a certainty.

Deh Cho Bridge Corporation chief operating officer Michael Nadli said Ottawa's blessing is a step forward in the process.

"We're at the point where we can say for certain the proposed bridge is a certain project," said Nadli.

The bridge still needs permits from the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Coast Guard before construction can start, but project manager Andrew Gamble isn't worried.

"We're hoping we'll have them some time in April."

While the timetable has slipped a little, contracts are expected to go up for bid in either April or May and Gamble said that could allow work to start in the fall.

Specialty firms will likely undertake the steel fabrication and the construction of the piers, said Gamble.

He added most of the contracts going to Northern firms will be awarded in the areas of earthwork, transportation, concrete supply as well as rock hauling and crushing.

Contracts for gravel and concrete supply will be a "good piece" of the work supplied to Northern companies, he said.

A large amount of sub-contracted work is also expected to go to Northerners as well as joint-ventures involving companies from Fort Providence and the rest of the NWT.