No vehicles could cross during this period, and supplies for Yellowknife and other highway communities north of the river had to be relayed across by helicopter, sent by air freight, or wait until ferry operations begin.

[citation needed] The closing of the crossing created added transportation inconveniences and costs for residents north of the river, especially for perishable items such as food.

The DCBC obtained a $3 million funding commitment from the federal Indian and Northern Affairs Canada department in 2004, and initially hoped to complete agreements with the GNWT and begin construction in that year.

[9] This necessitated similar scale increases in the proposed annual payments from the GNWT to the DCBC over the life of the agreement to keep the project financially viable.

Following the GNWT's independent review, performed by its consultants BPTEC of Edmonton and T. Y. Lin International of San Francisco, recommendations for changes to the superstructure design were made.

[16] Infinity Engineering Group's project description says: The superstructure is a two lane, nine-span composite steel truss bridge with a cable assisted main span of 190 m (623 ft),.

[16]The bridge makes significant use of weathering steel and is not painted, reducing maintenance costs and extending the projected lifetime.

For maintaining stay cable bridges tension force measurements reveal such problems at an early stage so that they can be addressed properly.

The cost of various remediation repairs to the original Atcon Phase 1 work is not included; this is being paid for by the $13.3 million construction bond funded by the Government of New Brunswick.

[24] Also not included are the indirect costs of the most recent delay to 2012 in opening the bridge; a year's worth of uncollected tolls and additional ferry operation.

During final approval of the bridge plans by the GNWT and its outside technical advisors, inadequacies relating to the design of the superstructure were discovered.

A delay in the construction schedule to allow for investigation of design changes was announced, and the opening date pushed back by a year to late 2011.

The Government of New Brunswick had guaranteed a $13.3 million letter of credit to Atcon as part of its construction bond, and initially indicated this would likely be released back to them.

[29] However, before it expired as of November 2010, the NWT government arranged for New Brunswick to pay out the entire amount into an account for correcting deficiencies in Atcon's work.

[32] On March 8, 2010, the GNWT announced that it would seek the necessary authority to assume the assets and debt of the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation.

The Assembly also passed a motion recommending that the Auditor General of Canada be requested to undertake a special audit of the project.

From 2012, an annual $200,000 grant will be paid for 35 years (a total of $7 million) for projects to provide community benefits and economic opportunities related to the bridge.

[37] Late steel shipments from Structal-Bridges of Quebec in the fall of 2010 caused delays in installing trusses on the south side of the bridge, which had been scheduled to have been finished by March 2011.

[39] In June 2012, the Minister of Finance announced that yet another $10 million would be required to accelerate construction and ensure the Bridge was completed by the November target date.

Levelton found a number of issues related to design responsibility, quality control and construction, which the GNWT has or is in the process of addressing.

In March 2010 the NWT Legislative Assembly requested that the auditor general of Canada conduct a special audit of the GNWT's risk management of the project and the public-private partnership undertaking.

[40] Steven Sternberger, presenting the award, said "The Deh Cho Bridge stands as a commendable example of using innovative design to meet stringent challenges, such as site conditions and location, schedule and budget constraints, while also creating an iconic, landmark structure".