Thread: U.S.-Mexico border fence unlikely to hit target

U.S.-Mexico border fence unlikely to hit target
The U.S.-Mexico border fence project is far from completion, and officials fear it won’t be finished in eight months.

DAVE MONTGOMERY
dmontgomery@mcclatchydc.com

WASHINGTON — At a cost of up to $4 million a mile, the concrete and steel fence rising along the Southwest border constitutes one of the most ambitious public works projects in years, encompassing legions of federal bureaucrats and a lineup of blue-ribbon contractors.

But as it slices through forbidding terrain, tribal lands, private property and sensitive wildlife habitats, the barrier faces its own towering wall of challenges, raising doubt that the projected 670 miles of pedestrian fences and vehicle barriers will be in place when the Bush administration comes to an end in January.

Facing a deadline of Dec. 31, the Department of Homeland Security was over halfway to its goal as of April 25, with just under 300 miles awaiting construction. A companion element to the physical barriers — a virtual wall of radars, cameras and sensors — faces uncertainty after developing worrisome technical problems in a test project.

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Notice they're not providing any pictures...