Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Pelly Bay (July 23/01) - While problems continue to plague the second bridge crossing in Kugaaruk/Pelly Bay, workers managed to finish work on the first bridge last week.

Hamlet senior administrator Quinn Taggart said he expected to complete the first crossing no later than Tuesday, July 17. Once the structure was finished, workers planned to start on the 11 kilometres of road that connect the hamlet to the DEW-Line site. Taggart said 1.5 kilometres of the passage way are already finished.

"Some of it will be easygoing. We've got tonnes of gravel stockpiled and we're ready and raring to go," said Taggart.

The bridge should have been finished a month ago, but Taggart said cold weather made work difficult.

Once the project has wrapped up, the cleanup of the abandoned military site is expected to begin. It is likely that several hamlet residents will be employed by Kudlik Construction during the two or three-year project.

"There will be opportunities for good economic spin-off in the community," said Taggart.

As for the troubled second bridge, an engineer has reviewed the design and is working on the changes requested by the department of fisheries and oceans.

DFO had difficulty with the bridge design because it interfered with fish habitat and may not have withstood the river's fast current.