Yellowknife (Jun 07/06) - Premier Joe Handley says Ottawa has to kick in $50 million or it can't be built. The message from the Deh Cho Bridge Company steering the project is the same.

And after Handley met with Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, to convince Ottawa that the Mackenzie Bridge is a good investment - his argument being it's part of the national highway system and good for all Canadians - he returned with "positive" and "optimistic" vibes.

Unfortunately, all the optimism and positiveness you can fit inside a transport truck will not get the job done - a job that in 1975 was estimated at $30 million. Twenty-five years later that price doubled, but the government proposed a $6 toll per tonne of commercial freight to pay for it, and with reluctance, industry supported the idea.

Today, with the boom economy pushing costs for materials, labour and energy up, what was once a $30 million idea is sitting in the $130 to $150 million range, depending on who one talks to.

"We were concerned about the possibility of cost overruns," said Mike Vaydik, NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines general manager.

"The $6 a tonne was based on a $59 million estimate. We're not trying to stir up any trouble, we understood the problems, but at the same time we weren't really in favour of a bridge with a toll."

Vaydik says the mining industry accepts the challenges that go with working in an area with limited transportation networks and that these additional costs would be absorbed by the mines.

"We're the price takers, the end users and it comes right off the bottom line," he said, adding that since the industry already pays hefty taxes, it only makes sense for the federal government to burden some of the load.

"(The tolls) would've added about $1.5 million in operating costs to the two mines operating (at the time the bridge was budgeted at $59 million)."

Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce executive director Marino Casebeer takes the case for getting Ottawa to pay for the bridge one step further.

"To put the entire infrastructure of the territories in perspective, (the bridge) is only one small part of what's needed," Casebeer said, referring to the extension of the Mackenzie Highway and an all-weather road to outlying communities and mines to replace the seasonal ice road as intertwined.

"(The bridge and highway extensions) are not just our problem. It affects the rest of Canada, so from our perspective the roads and infrastructure is part of the responsibility of the state."

Casebeer - who notes the chamber was never in favour of the toll - says he would like to see the federal government pay for the entire cost of the bridge and ties any future infrastructure in the territories to the elusive resource revenue-sharing deal the GNWT has been seeking from Ottawa.

"We're not saying the territory shouldn't be left out of burdening some of the costs, but if we had a bigger share of the revenue we'd be better able to contribute."

Jane Peart, owner and manager of Nahanni Construction, believes the territories should focus its energy on extending the Mackenzie Highway rather than a bridge over the river.

"I would rather see a road to resources, as it makes better economic sense," she said.

From the public's perspective, all of whom Yellowknifer spoke with were either very supportive of building a bridge, or weren't concerned in any event.

"Absolutely, I think the bridge should be built," said seven-year Yellowknife resident Gary Reid. "It's gotta happen sometime, so they might as well get on with it."

A Yellowknife resident of 17 years, Rick Moses would like to see a bridge across the Mackenzie, as well.

"I think it would be a big benefit, a convenience for sure," he said.

At Extra Foods, manager Glen Meek said consumers would probably be affected very little from a bridge, despite the toll charge.