Parks Canada says a controversial fence built halfway up Signal Hill in St. John's, N.L., cost about $65,000 from planning to construction before it was swiftly taken down just over a week after the first panels went up.

The structure met with strong opposition from residents who say it unnecessarily blocked the iconic view of the city.

By Friday, all panels had been completely removed by the federal agency, after it acknowledged earlier this week that intentions to improve visitor safety had missed the mark.

Work began Thursday morning to dismantle the fence. (Ryan Cooke/CBC)

Not including dismantling

Parks Canada says the costs to build the fence — including planning, layout, design and labour — totalled about $65,000, a figure that doesn't include the cost of removing it.

A statement says wood from the fence, which stood 53 metres long and 1.8 metres tall, will be used at other Parks Canada sites in the province.

Fence posts were installed on June 19 and panels began to be installed on July 9, one week before comedian Rick Mercer drew wider attention to the fence on his Twitter account.

Removal began two days later.

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