Four more miles of border wall to be constructed in Rio Grande Valley in Texas
Four more miles of border wall to be constructed in Rio Grande Valley in Texas
Aria Jones, El Paso Times
Published 3:55 p.m. MT June 27, 2019
A $33 million contract was awarded Wednesday, June 26, for about 4 miles of border wall construction in the Rio Grande Valley, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Construction is expected to begin as early as November and will be built with vertical steel bollards, ranging from about 18-30 feet tall, the agency said. The contract was awarded by CBP and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Southwest Valley Constructors..
The latest construction is part of $2 billion expected to be spent by CBP this year to build about 85 miles of wall in the Rio Grande Valley. It includes 11 miles of new primary levee wall system and 74 miles of new border wall.
About seven miles of new border wall are expected to go up in Starr County, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley with a little more than $75.8 million in contracts being announced by the CBP in the past couple of months.
A $42.8 million contract was previously announced by CBP in late May for the construction of about three miles of wall beginning in August. Both contracts will be paid for through CBP's Fiscal 2019 budget.
More: Feds announce $43 million earmarked for three miles of border wall in Texas
The latest four miles of wall construction will consist of four segments south of Rio Grande City and La Grulla, Texas. It will also include road construction, detection technology and light installation, CBP said.
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Border Patrol agents standing along the border wall near Penitas, Texas, look down at other agents after taking two migrants in to custody on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. (Photo: Courtney Sacco/Caller-Times)
CBP had 654 miles of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, including 300 miles of vehicle barriers that do not prevent people from crossing on foot, in January 2017, according to the agency.
Since then, the Department of Homeland Security and CBP have received funding to construct about 201-205 miles of new barriers along the border, according to CBP. About 46.7 miles of additional border barriers have been built to replace dilapidated wall.
The Rio Grande Valley is the busiest CBP sector in the nation, according to the statement, accounting for more than 40 percent of border apprehensions and a large percentage of narcotic seizures.
"This project will improve the RGV Sector's ability to impede and deny illegal border crossings and the drug and human smuggling activities of transnational criminal organizations," CBP said in a statement.
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