Photo by Photo Submitted
IN WITH THE NEW – Highways and Public Works Minister Richard Mostyn (standing, far right) speaks Friday afternoon during the ribbon-cutting for the new Nares River Bridge at Carcross, though it will not open until next month. The wooden bridge it replaces was built in 1970. Photo courtesy YUKON GOVERNMENT
After two years of construction, the Nares River (Naataase Héen) Bridge replacement in Carcross is finished.
After two years of construction, the Nares River (Naataase Héen) Bridge replacement in Carcross is finished.
The project cost approximately $15 million, after being originally budgeted at $12.6 million. It replaces a wooden structure which was almost 50 years old.
Highways and Public Works Minister Richard Mostyn and Maria Benoit, the Carcross-Tagish First Nations’ (CTFNs’) deputy chief, officially opened the bridge early Friday afternoon.
They were joined by project teams from the the Carcross/Tagish Development Corp. and Ruskin Construction Ltd., the project’s contractor.
The new bridge will go into service next month.
It has wider lanes to better accommodate larger commercial vehicles along the South Klondike Highway and a wider pathway that can be illuminated at night for cyclists and pedestrians.
The Yukon government used a value-driven procurement process that included a First Nation participation plan to address employment and training for CTFN citizens and firms.
“The new bridge will meet future traffic demands along the South Klondike Highway better than the current bridge, which was built nearly 50 years ago,” Mostyn said.
“Working closely with the Carcross/Tagish First Nation, we ensured that this project created direct local benefits to the community.”
The new structure is especially important to developing the region’s tourism industry, as thousands of people per year now visit Carcross, he pointed out.
“As we are the headwaters of the Yukon, we are also the gateway into the territory from Alaska,” Benoit said.
“We are sad to see the last wooden bridge in the Yukon be replaced, but grateful to have a new and safe bridge for visitors and citizens to travel through.”
The light, 17-span bridge was built in 1970 to accommodate mining activity in the area.
The old bridge was not designed to accommodate the large loads and demands of today’s vehicles and was steadily being damaged as a result.
In July, a Carcross resident told the Star he was upset over the new bridge encroaching on his wife’s ancestral property, and the disruptions the construction was causing to their enjoyment of the property.
They erected a blockade to keep work crews off their property.
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Comments (10)
Up 6 Down 1
Atom on Nov 1, 2019 at 1:16 pm
Jaysus....how the hell do you do anything no matter who you are aiding without a sh*t storm of criticism in this little backwater sh**hole!?
Oh, that's right, this was in Carcross....sorry to have included the entirety of the Yukon
Up 20 Down 1
Apex parasite on Oct 31, 2019 at 8:22 am
It's a bridge. To get across the river. How about not naming it and just skip straight to driving over it.
Up 15 Down 2
Yukoner 45 on Oct 30, 2019 at 10:20 pm
@Oya and Guncache
Its interesting that you automatically believe everything the guy screaming and cursing on the bridge in the video said. He said she was fired? That's interesting, because I have it on good authority that she quit. I heard there was indeed some form of sexual harassment but that it wasn't severe by any stretch. If it was serious the police would have been called in to investigate at the very least.
Up 8 Down 26
Dear People on Oct 30, 2019 at 1:14 pm
Yo - Michael Miller: Let’s rename and rebrand the Yukon as something different to avoid the old colonial attachments. We should be looking to re-invent the territory’s history to de-reflect the destruction and chaos that came with the settler nations. We need a name we can be proud of! No one wants to continue under the oppression that the settlers brought with them in renaming the lands - Yukon.
Up 4 Down 13
Michael Miller on Oct 30, 2019 at 9:49 am
Let's rename that bridge.
Up 8 Down 22
Oya on Oct 30, 2019 at 9:40 am
So many wrongs here. What the hell was there to celebrate, Richard Mostyn?
Yes, Guncache, where is the part about the sexual harassment complainant who got fired? THAT is news, imo.
Yes, Karyn Atlin, all your points are very valid. For a government that spews out "buy local, do everything local", what about hiring local??? Why aren't they walking the talk?
Whse Star: Who was the reporter on this story? Why no name? Why is only half the story reported and only the stuff that makes the government look good. Are you in their pockets, too?
What about this government? Let's all go back 40 years in history...back to the old boys' club that never really got disbanded ever. Women have few rights here - or maybe they have rights, they just can't exercise them because of this government's actions.
I'm sorry, but every time I drive over that bridge, I am going to think of that girl who got fired for saying she was sexually harassed and of the alleged sexual harasser who still has his good government job. I'm going to think of the poor residents who had their land expropriated for this photo op. While the bridge might make the highway safer, it only has negative connotations for me now. It represents a whole system gone bad; it represents oppression against women; it represents a government more concerned with photo ops than anything else.
Anxious yet again for the next election....
Up 19 Down 6
Bandit on Oct 30, 2019 at 8:20 am
That's fricking hilarious. 2 years and 15 million, in 1942 the ENTIRE 1500 miles of the Alaska Highway was built in 8 months for 138 million???
Up 23 Down 2
Guncache on Oct 28, 2019 at 6:00 pm
This story neglected to mention the disruption one individual caused during the ceremony. Something about his sister working on the bridge, sexual harassment and her getting fired. Then we have one Carcross resident erecting a blockade.
Up 13 Down 15
Karyn Atlin on Oct 28, 2019 at 5:58 pm
It’s unfortunate that the Yukon governments procurement process did not encourage local trained First Nation citizens to bring their journeyman skills to participate in the work opportunities in Carcross Instead the contractor brought their own welders from Prince George to work on this project.. Still feels kind of like the good ole boys club, that excludes those that are qualified (especially when the qualified are women) So let’s see families had their properties encroached on ( and just for clarification there were two families) qualified people that were not hired but were replaced by imports, and why are we no longer hearing about the management trainee that abruptly left her (yes another her) position. Are we seeing a pattern here?
Up 8 Down 28
Arnold W on Oct 28, 2019 at 3:50 pm
Another completed project under Liberal tutelage. Keep er go'in team.