SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Work has stopped on the $165-million Deh Cho Bridge and the only Northern subcontractor on the project said his company's involvement may be at stake.

Jack Rowe of Rowe's Construction said that he'd received an e-mail stating that the bridge project may be subject to change and his company may or may not be involved in the project anymore.

"The Deh Cho Bridge Corporation are in some pretty big discussions right now on some fairly significant changes and they'd be the best people to talk to," Rowe said from his office in Hay River on Thursday afternoon.

"I'm aware of a letter that has been sent out from the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation to the prime contractor (ATCON Construction Ltd.) that removes some of the responsibility for the bridge work off from ATCON," said Rowe, who added he is not sure what that all means. "I haven't been able to get a whole lot of answers."

Rowe's Construction has a contract with ATCON and does not deal directly with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation.

The Deh Cho Bridge Corporation held meetings Wednesday night and another one Thursday afternoon to discuss the issue, according to Michael Vandell, president of the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation.

"We will be talking about that at lunch time," he said Thursday morning.

Vandell could not be reached for further comment following the latter meeting.

Earl Blacklock, spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, said the government was aware of the work stoppages. He said the department will not speak about the issue until the corporation makes a public statement. He said the government did not want to comment "while (the corporation is) in the midst of the situation" and would "wait until they have dealt with it."

Andrew Gamble, project manager with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation, could not be reached for comment Thursday. On Wednesday, Gamble said he would not talk about the mega-project until a few things were resolved, but he would not specify.

Dorothy Innes, spokesperson for ATCON, said to her knowledge the stoppage has been caused by ice flowing off Great Slave Lake, down the river.

"As far as I know, we are not in full swing yet but we will be," she said, adding construction will resume shortly.

The bridge project has already paid out more than $3 million for claims, according to Transportation Minister Michael McLeod, June 2.

Claims are paid out when companies incur costs, such as wages paid to workers during unforeseen delays.

When questioned in the legislative assembly last session, McLeod told Kam Lake MLA Dave Ramsay claims were not uncommon for a project of this size.

Blacklock said the government would "provide assistance to the bridge corporation in (its) role as guarantor," although he would not elaborate on what kind of assistance it would give.

ATCON Construction Ltd., based out of Miramichi, N.B., and Ruskin Construction Ltd., out of Prince George, B.C. are currently working on site.

Rod Cleave, project manager with Ruskin Construction Ltd., could not be reached for comment.