The results are in!
First, an honourable mention to Bob who decided to not only avoid constructing a bridge, but also to "untrouble" the water. That's the type of outside-the-box thinking that should get rewarded around here.
There were really only two competitive ways to complete this level. Most decided to stick with tensioned rubber to launch the poor 'dillo towards the portal, but that doesn't seem cost effective solution this time around.
Our winner: markman, who constructed a classic counterweight with 5310 of the original budget remaining! Congratulations!