SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The three possible new routes for Highway 4 around Giant Mine are being estimated to cost between $8 and $14 million, not including any special geo-technical work such as bridges.

The Fred Henne route is approximately $14 million, the dump route $11 million, and the route by the future Mining Heritage Centre is $8 million.

Stakeholders "said OK, well that's plus or minus 25 per cent. Let's really boil this down to plus or minus five per cent before we can make really clear decisions," said Kevin McLeod, director of highways for the Department of Transportation.

Right now, the three new routes for Highway 4 have very tentative costs - McLeod said these are "Class D estimates" and are based on the estimated cost per kilometre - "$1.2 to 1.5 million per kilometre, and that includes everything from lighting to signs to painting."

"That's just looking at a map," said McLeod. "That's not doing geo-technical work; that's not doing detailed analysis on bridge crossing or slope analysis."

The money would be a combination of territorial funding and federal funding through Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, which is handling the Giant Mine remediation project.

"We committed going back to the public and the various stakeholders by the end of this year with more details including impacts analysis, socio-economic analysis, the social-cultural impact, and the impact on the Giant Mine Remediation program," he said.

The stakeholders, McLeod said, are anyone with an interest in the project, such as aboriginal groups who have a land claim issue, the city, the Giant Mine Remediation project, the sailing club and the NWT Mining Heritage Society.

McLeod said there will be opportunities for anyone with an opinion to voice it this fall at public meetings and through a website that invites comments from the public.

"We want to make sure that all of our options fit the 50- and 60-year needs of the city as they develop long-term development plans," said McLeod.

McLeod said the studies will take about another year to complete.

"We would like ultimately to start surveying and have agreed to a proper alignment, and start work in a year and a half's time from now."

The work, McLeod said, will take two or three years because of all the blasting and rock hauling.