Costs to repair the Keewatin-Channel Bridge have skyrocketed dramatically.
The City of Kenora initially had budgeted about $4.5 million for the project.
But tenders came back at the end of June anywhere from $8.8 million to $21 million.
Council held a special meeting Tuesday in order to discuss how it wanted to cover the added costs.
So, the city is going to move money from the Portage Bay Bridge project.
In all, $3.7 million in provincial funding from the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund for that project and another $960 thousand in debt financing from the 2025 capital budget will be used.
The city says it’s still plans to do repairs on the Portage Bay Bridge this year at a cost of $600,000.
It says those repairs should last at least five years and allow the city to find money to help finance a more permanent fix, including replacing the bridge altogether.
Work on that bridge and the Keewatin Channel Bridge are expected to be complete later this year.
