Yellowknife (Mar 15/06) - The Deh Cho Bridge will cost more than $60 million, but no one is certain what the final price will be.

Just two firms - SNC-Lavalin and a joint effort between American Bridge and Peter Kiewit and Sons - remain in the bidding for the main engineering and construction contract.

Up to 12 specialty companies are still negotiating on tenders with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation said Andrew Gamble, project manager.

The final projected cost won't be known until all of those deals are inked.

"We have yet to revise the statement, but we know it's up," he said.

All tenders were to be submitted by Jan. 20, but the deadline was extended to March 22 in the hopes of attracting more interested bidders. "Some design delays and environmental assessments have slowed us down, but we are waiting for the green light," he said.

Michael Nadli, chief operating officer for the Fort Providence-based corporation, said the group is still trying to pinpoint an overall cost.

"It's got to be a price that works for everybody," said Nadli.

A construction industry expert expects there will be a significant jump in the price due to the materials that will be needed.

"Prices of steel have sky-rocketed obviously it's going to be reflected in the price," said Donald Worrall, the executive director with the NWT Construction Association.

Funding for the bridge is coming in the form of loans - TD Securities is putting up 90 per cent while the territorial government will cover the rest.

In order to pay off the loans, there will be a toll on commercial traffic using the bridge.

For a deal to be ratified by the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and the territorial government, there are stipulations about the tolls, said Gamble.

"In order for this to work, we can't go over $6 per tonne on commercial freight," said Gamble.

The bridge is expected to provide jobs for 60 to 100 workers between June and November once construction begins.

If everything goes according to plan from there, it could open to traffic by late 2008.