Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Having lived through the
construction of the bridge, I can assure the Member that getting it done on time has very many benefits, and preferably on budget, because the Legislature clearly takes a dim view of projects that came in over budget and over time. This particular project has been, from the start, a four-year project, with the first three years focusing where the majority of work is on the building of the embankments and the final year of the finishing and putting in the top layer of gravel. While we are attempting to accelerate the project, the intent is to catch up with what didn’t get built last year so that we can still hit that three-year major embankment work time schedule. There will be no loss of opportunity to anybody affiliated with the project, either the employees or the owners of the company. The whole intent is to still work within that four-year period with the money that’s available.