DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
One year in, leaders in Fort Providence have mixed reviews about the changes the Deh Cho bridge has created.

A year ago on Nov. 30, then Transportation Minister David Ramsey, left, Premier Bob McLeod, elder Beatrice Christie, representing the Fort Providence Metis, and Lennie Lacorne, representing Deh Gah Got'ie First Nation, cut a ribbon to officially open the Deh Cho Bridge. - NNSL file photo

The bridge was officially opened to traffic on Nov. 30, following a ribbon cutting and a number of other related ceremonies. While the traffic on Highway 3 may have increased, Chief Joachim Bonnetrouge of Deh Gah Got'ie First Nation said Fort Providence has become quieter since the structure opened.

The bit of employment that the bridge had created for some residents is gone now, said Bonnetrouge. The bridge does, however, makes the shopping trip that many residents take on an almost weekly basis to Hay River easier.

"(There are) really no complaints," Bonnetrouge said about the structure.

Bonnetrouge said he will be interested to see how the bridge withstands the break-up of the ice on the Mackenzie River in April, and what it will be like to drive over the bridge in March when the seasonal strong winds arrive.

Fort Providence Mayor Tina Gargan agrees that the bridge has created benefits for travellers. People no longer have to rush to make the ferry, she said.

Gargan remembers one occasion approximately four years ago, when she and her partner and two children had to camp on the far side of the Mackenzie River overnight after they returned too late from a trip to Hay River to make the ferry. It was summer so the experience wasn't too uncomfortable, but the bridge has eliminated the chance of that happening to anyone again, she said.

In addition to making traveling safer by eliminating the need to rush for the ferry, the bridge has also provided a year-round link to the south, which Gargan said she is thankful for.

"Like everything else, there is a positive and a negative," she said, however, about the structure.

Building the ice crossing on the Mackenzie River used to create good employment for some residents, she said.

Now that there is no ice crossing, work is gone and the resulting unemployment has affected the men who had the jobs and their families, she said.

Gargan said she has also seen a huge increase in traffic locally and an increased amount of drugs and alcohol in the community. Gargan has heard there are harder drugs in the community now, although she said those would have arrived eventually even without the bridge.

As with the pros and cons related to anything in life, Gargan said the difference comes down to how people choose to deal with it.

"It's there, we have to live with it now," she said about the bridge.

From the Department of Transportation's viewpoint the Deh Cho Bridge had a successful first year.

"The bridge has performed extremely well," said Kevin McLeod, the department's director of the highways and marine services division.

The bridge has contracted with the cold and expanded with the heat and dealt with snow, ice and wind, as it was designed to do.

"Folks are really happy with it. Not just the technical folks, but the folks who are maintaining it, the folks who are inspecting it and ultimately the folks who use it on a regular basis," he said.

When the bridge was opened, the department still had approximately a year's worth of work to do on it, including cleaning the site, changing the guardrails and installing gates to stop bison. There are still some small tasks left that will be done in 2014, said McLeod.

One area where the bridge hasn't met expectations is in revenues from tolls. Based on studies of traffic and use of the bridge, the territorial government was anticipating to receive approximately $4 million a year in tolls.

So far, about $3.5 million in tolls has been collected, less than expected. The decrease is likely due to less traffic related to resource development and other commercial ventures, said McLeod.

It would be difficult to make an estimate about future toll revenues based on this first year, he said.

It does seem that the trucking industry is packing and loading their trailers in a more efficient manner to maximize the amount of freight per toll. That efficiency reduces carbon outputs and makes the highways safer because there are fewer vehicles, McLeod said.

Tolls are charged on commercial vehicles coming north on the bridge based on their number of axles. For example, a fully loaded B-train, which includes two large trailers linked together, generates approximately $278 in tolls.

Motorists can look forward to using the Deh Cho Bridge for at least another 74 years. The bridge has a design life of 75 years.

"We anticipate it will last a lot longer of course," said McLeod.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.