Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Providence (Sep 20/02) - Although the design has been altered and the price has risen, Michael McLeod is still confident a bridge will span the Mackenzie River by 2005.

McLeod, a member of the Fort Providence Bridge Committee and MLA for Deh Cho, said the committee hopes to have a draft agreement-in-principle with the territorial government in hand by early October. It will then be reviewed by cabinet and Fort Providence's Combined Council Alliance and community members, he said following a bridge committee meeting last Friday.

The estimated cost of the project has risen above $50 million, but McLeod wouldn't divulge the latest figures. He said there's still no word on whether federal funding -- a total of $23 million has been applied for -- will be granted.

"We're comfortable we can proceed without it," he said. "It will just mean more debt financing. We've been talking to world banks."

The rising costs will also affect the tolls that will be charged, he noted, adding that at this point only commercial traffic is being targeted for the tolls.

According to McLeod, most of the technical issues have been worked out with Northern Transportation Company Ltd, which barges freight up and down the Mackenzie. The bridge's parameters have been altered accordingly.

"We really had to get our designers to sharpen their pencils," he said.

The bridge still requires environmental regulatory approval and construction and finance agreements still have to be worked out, McLeod noted. Fort Providence's community leaders will also have to decide upon an ownership structure, he added.