If you've found yourself driving across the Deh Cho Bridge, you'll no doubt notice work that's being done.

Now, Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya wants to know why it's taking so long for the work to be completed.

She raised the issue in the legislative assembly on Tuesday, noting that the root of the problem was a broken cable discovered in summer 2023.

But the length of time that it's taken to fix the problem had her concerned.

"Constituents in my riding frequently use the Deh Cho Bridge, and they are concerned about the traffic delays and worried about potential safety issues," she said. "My constituents aren't the only ones impacted. The bridge is important for many residents of the NWT and for tourism and other industries as this is a year-round highway linking Yellowknife to the south."

Add to that the potential for safety issues because the bridge was down to one lane, which causes long line-ups at times, she added.

In response, Infrastructure Minister Caroline Wawzonek said that engineers were on site to start fixing the cable within 48 hours of being notified and that the problem was the type of metal used on that particular cable.

"They pulled the cable off the bridge, took it for testing, (they) wanted to, of course, make sure that they knew for sure what had gone wrong, and it was confirmed that there was no defect in the design or the engineering or the construction," she said. "There was something wrong in the metal that was actually used to cast this particular piece. And so as a result of that, not only did they fix that one, but they fixed all 24 bars just to be sure since they were all cast from the same bit of metal."

Yakeleya also said she was of the understanding that the repair work was going to happen in the summer, but that didn't happen.

"I made inquiries on the status of the repairs and each time, I am told that it will be done soon," she said. "However, the work keeps getting pushed back."

As for the timeline of repairs, Wawzonek said that's because of a delay in getting the components shipped North.

"I am told that they're en route, they're due here in early November," she said. "And the best I can say is in terms of a delay, I think early on, people were saying an estimate of having it rebuilt this fall. Fall, of course, can be September. But, really, there's only been a slight delay in that delivery, and so I'm happy to say that they're en route (and) they're expected to be here in November."

Wawzonek added that the total cost of the fix is expected to come in at around $7 million.