Deh Cho bridge repair work pushed back to October

The N.W.T.'s Department of Infrastructure now says it expects repairs to the Deh Cho bridge to begin in October.

Territorial officials previously said they would replace a broken cable, along with a couple dozen "metal adjustment bars" on the bridge, this summer.

The department sent out a request for tenders earlier this year. The territorial government's contract website shows two companies responded. Each bid submission totalled just over $4 million.

In an email Wednesday, the department told CBC News the submissions are currently under review. 

The department became aware of the damage on the bridge last August. It then reduced bridge traffic to one lane, installed temporary lights, reduced the speed limit and required commercial vehicles to maintain a certain amount of spacing on the bridge.

An investigation revealed the cable broke because it was anchored to the bridge with a faulty metal adjustment bar. In a statement earlier this year, officials said the bar appeared to have a "metallurgical defect that caused it to fail."

The department told CBC news it's awarded a contract for material supply and delivery, but did not provide any more details.

They expect the supplies to arrive at the site in October, with the work to begin shortly after.

Officials said the repairs "will not have a significant impact on the traveling public," however, some operations such as orientating equipment on the bridge may require short-term closures of up to 10 minutes.

The final cost of the repairs is still being assessed.