The low bid of $34.8 million to replace the Donjek River Bridge is almost $10 million over the estimated cost by the Yukon's Department of Highways and Public Works.

Project manager Bill Stanley of the department's transportation engineering branch said this morning the bid is under review. It's expected a decision will be made no later than mid-January.

'We will have to meet with the low bidder and we will see what comes out of that,' he said.

Replacement of the Donjek bridge, located some 40 km north of Burwash Landing, is part of the ongoing Shakwak project, funded entirely by the U.S. government.

Washington has committed funding to upgrade the highway that was initially built primarily by the U.S. military in 1942 as part of a strategic plan during the Second World War.

Any approval of Shakwak projects by the territorial government also requires subsequent approval by the U.S. federal highways administration.

The Yukon government's estimated cost of the Donjek replacement is described as under $25 million in its project summary published on its website.

CMF Construction Ltd. of Nanaimo, B.C. submitted the low bid of $34,756,500.

That compares to the next lowest bid of $35,947,921, submitted by MKB Constructors of Seattle, Wash.

The three other bids were: $38,687,989 by EPCOM Resources Inc. of Whitehorse; $42,965,835 by Peter Kiewit Sons Co. of Richmond, B.C.; and $43,050,784 submitted by Ledcor CMI Ltd. of Vancouver.

As part of the Shakwak project, several bridges are being replaced.

The White River Bridge was replaced a few years ago. Replacement of the 68-metre Beaver Creek Bridge began this year and is substantially complete.

Work on the Donjek is expected to begin early this year, with completion scheduled for September 2007.

The bridge measures 488 metres. By comparison, the bridge at Johnson's Crossing measures 446 metres.

The Nisutlin Bay Bridge in Teslin measures 583 metres, and is thought to be one of the longest bridges in the Yukon, if not the longest.

The next bridge to be replaced on the north section of the Alaska Highway is the one spanning the Duke River, followed by the replacement of the Slims River Bridge, Stanley explained.