Yellowknife (Apr 19/06) - The cost to build the Deh Cho Bridge is pushing $100 million, but proponents insist it will go ahead.

The bridge across the Mackenzie River near Fort Providence was originally projected to cost $57 million. Final tenders were due March 22 and construction was planned to begin in June, although that timeline has not been confirmed.

Andrew Gamble: "The price of steel went up and stayed up, the price of energy has risen in the last couple of years, (as has) the price of labour." -

"It's closer to $100 million than $60 million," said project manager Andrew Gamble Monday.

He said a shortage of skilled labour and high material and energy costs "are presenting some challenges."

"A bunch of things are happening (that) are really driven by the global marketplace," Gamble said. "The price of steel went up and stayed up, the price of energy has risen in the last couple of years, (as has) the price of labour."

Booming construction in Alberta and the rest of North America means construction companies have more orders than they can handle, Gamble said.

The project's partners, the territorial government, Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and TD Securities, a private sector backer, will meet in May to decide if the project lives or dies.

The bridge would provide year-round road access to the south, eliminating the need for ferries and ice roads across the Mackenzie and ending the annual period at break-up when goods need to be flown to Yellowknife or shuttled across the river by helicopter.

"There's a big reliability and convenience factor for trucking," Gamble said.

Speaking to the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce yesterday, Premier Joe Handley said costs are "coming in high" but that he's "not writing it off."

Handley said he discussed the bridge project with federal Transportation Minister Lawrence Cannon last week.

"We would need some cash into the bridge from the federal government to make this work," Handley told reporters.

Another option, he said, would be for the federal government to reach an interim resource revenue sharing agreement with the territorial government that would provide about $75 million a year that could be spent on infrastructure projects, including the bridge.

Plans call for construction costs to be covered by a $6 per tonne toll on freight trucks plus money from the territorial government. Handley said the commercial toll can't increase and added there are no plans for tariffs on regular traffic. The government has paid planning costs to date and has committed to contributing the amount it costs to run the ferry and maintain the ice crossing annually and then take over ownership of the bridge after 35 years.

Despite the concerns, Gamble remains confident the project will be built.

"I'm always worried. We've been working on this, cripes, five years now," he said. "(But) there's no fat lady singing."

- with files from John Curran