SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Deh Cho Bridge construction contract is being renegotiated with primary contractor ATCON Construction and a government official said he can't say whether it will cost more or less to complete the bridge.

Earl Blacklock, spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, said because the original contract between the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and ATCON, worth $165 million, was based on the old bridge design and because of the new design, the contract has to change.

Even though the contract is between ATCON and the bridge corporation, the GNWT has a sizable stake in the bridge. It is the guarantor of the project, and has agreed to bail out the bridge should the bridge corporation falter.

"The original contract was 'here is the design and tell us what you would charge us to build a bridge around this design.' (ATCON) looked at it, they priced it and then they wrote the contract," said Blacklock. "That design is no longer what they can use for the sections they are responsible for. "

Blacklock said he couldn't say whether or not the new contract will be more than the fixed price originally agreed to at $165 million.

"It could change. We won't know until the end of negotiations," Blacklock said, adding there will be some savings in construction materials, but said ultimately ATCON will be renegotiating cost and building schedules, which could change. "All of those things need to be renegotiated on a new design," he said. "The expectation is it would be still built in the earliest time frame possible."

Andrew Gamble, project manager for the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation, said the company hasn't yet started talks with ATCON about building the superstructure.

"We have to sit down with them and satisfy ourselves, as do they, that we have a good plan and understanding of what needs to be done," Gamble said. "We need to renegotiate the terms (of the contract) to complete the work.

"We've got to sort out the fact the project is delayed, to what extent things will (have) changed because of the delay."

Sixty per cent of the new bridge design has been completed by Infinity Engineering Group, a firm from North Vancouver brought on to complete the design changes requested by the territorial government after it reviewed the original design, Blacklock said.

Because of the changes, the primary contractor ATCON Construction was advised not to start building the superstructure and deck until the design was finalized, creating the potential for cost increases. Gamble said the corporation is still operating within the $165-million budget, but said the company won't know for sure if more money will be needed.

"Until we get through these discussions with ATCON, we won't be able to say if the budget will be more than enough or less than enough," Gamble said. "There are some costs of course for delaying, but there are some savings because of the redesign.

"The design changes, we think, are improvements, not just in taking care of some design concerns, but that it'll be easier to fabricate and easier to erect."

Gamble said the design is still waiting to be finalized. Final approval of the bridge design isn't expected until sometime early next year, according to Gamble.

It was announced in June the bridge wouldn't be completed until 2011, one year later than originally scheduled and a large part of the delay was caused by the recommendations from the GNWT, who reviewed the project in conjunction with two southern engineering firms, for changes to the superstructure portion of the bridge.

At a technical briefing regarding the bridge in July, Kevin McLeod, director of highways and marine services for the Department of Transportation, said the government took a risk in allowing the bridge to go ahead without a final design, but it felt confident completed work, including four of eight concrete piers, wouldn't be affected by the review.

The review team knew the construction of the superstructure, which includes the trusses, pylons, cables and bearings, was over a year away and it was decided any risks could be mitigated and any necessary changes could be made, McLeod said.

"So far it's proving useful. We're getting a better, easier, faster, stronger design," McLeod said in July.

The last four piers are expected to be in place before the end of the current construction season. Gamble said work is going smoothly at this point and there is no indication the pier work will be delayed.

"The critical thing was to get those four north piers in and the work bridge out now instead of in the spring," Gamble said. "It's a pretty tight schedule and if anything serious goes wrong then they don't have any wiggle room."