Wally Schumann

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just to update the Member, because I know this Oscar Creek bridge has come up a couple of times. In 2017-2018 we're going to do pre-engineered design for a new foundation and access, and tender and award that. Then in 2018-2019 we are going to construct and move the existing bridge to the Mackenzie Valley highway alignment and proceed with that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'll have to take that under advisement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We cannot release those names publicly until after the first meeting, but we can let committee know the names of those people. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This stuff was put together internally, and we will get those figures together and present them to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. First of all, on the crosswalk right outside here by the Assembly, by the Nova Hotel, that should all be installed by November 1st. The crosswalk should be put into place. We're in ongoing discussions with the City of Yellowknife on them taking over this section of highway, but we are also trying with the City of Yellowknife to figure out a sidewalk along this section of highway, and those discussions are ongoing. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Speaker, we are on the road with our consultation on this. We went to the regional centres, but this initiative that we put forward, we have an extremely important Web portal with interaction where anyone from within the industry or the Northwest Territories can interact with the department and answer a number of questions and put their thoughts forward. They have the mail-in option. They can email us. They can phone the department and we'll have someone discuss these options with them. That's our commitment, and we will continue to do that, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Member is right. The Buffalo River bridge is almost completed. The tender for the Hay River bridge will be coming out shortly for its procurement for the rehabilitation of that bridge. Frank Channel bridge has been deferred. We are thinking about having another look at that after we went out to public consultation, and there were a number of concerns about us rehabilitating that bridge and having a full canopy on it as the way it is right now; it is a bottleneck of the whole system of anything coming north of Yellowknife, and we are having another look at it. I think...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We can pull that information together in the next few weeks and get that to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Member is correct; we have delineators up there at present. Right now, we're doing a planning including a survey and design work is currently under way for the installation of guardrails at that particular site, and also at kilometre 13.5 in 2018-2019. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I think the idea of a bridge across the Liard River would be someday considered at some point, but I think right now the mandate of this Assembly is the Mackenzie Valley highway, the Slave Geological Province, or the Whati road. I think if we get the opportunity to build the Mackenzie Valley highway at some point and have it completed, and industry picks up in the region and the amount of traffic would come up to warrant a bridge across there, we could do that, but for us to spend the money on a bridge right now versus completing the Mackenzie Valley Highway, I do not think is something we...