Posted on 09/28/2018 4:29:03 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
Video released this week shows construction underway in El Paso, Texas, for a portion of a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
The video published by the El Paso Times shows construction beginning to replace existing fencing with the wall in Chihuahuita, El Paso's oldest neighborhood.
The wall, construction for which began last Saturday, is set to run from Chihuahuita and continue east for four miles.
An 18-foot-tall steel bollard wall will replace the chain link and metal fence as part of President Trumps executive order last year authorizing construction of his wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The construction project is expected to be completed in late April 2019 and is estimated to cost $22 million.
El Paso Sector continues to experience a high number of apprehensions of illegal aliens and drug smuggling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) said in a news release last Friday.
In fiscal year 2017, El Paso Sector apprehended 25,193 illegal aliens, seized 34,189 pounds of marijuana and 140 pounds of cocaine, the release continued. "Additionally during that fiscal year, there were 54 assaults against El Paso Sector agents.
The agency said it contracted West Point Contractors of Tucson, Ariz., on June 1 to build the barrier.
Trump lashed out at Congress earlier this month over a lack of funding for his border wall in a recently passed spending bill.
"I want to know, where is the money for Border Security and the WALL in this ridiculous Spending Bill, and where will it come from after the Midterms?" Trump tweeted. "Dems are obstructing Law Enforcement and Border Security. REPUBLICANS MUST FINALLY GET TOUGH!"
On Friday, Trump signed an $854 billion spending package that funds most parts of the federal government through fiscal 2019, pushing off a deadline for a partial shutdown and a showdown over funding for his proposed border wall until December.
THIS is more like it.
Let’s all work to make sure this KEEPS going.
A very small town is 2,000 people.
That’s also the number of Mexicans who illegally cross north EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Yes, an entire small town.
At the end of one year? About 400 very small Mexican towns set up shop in a foreign country, OUR country.
Year after year.
Better than nothing, but not the 30-foot high wall Trump said he would build. This is a temporary band-aid.
Replacing a short length of fence with a wall. Time to hyperventilate over this incredible and massive progress.
So which company was chosen?
Which plan?
There was a time when several companies built prototypes...
Which design was chosen?
I want a live cam availible on a .gov website showing progress 24 hrs 7 days a week.
Hopefully the fence comes with a Marine sniper perched on top.
Illegals cross at McAllen at higher numbers.
Should have started the wall at the tip of TX and build continuously to the west rather than a little here and a little there.
Impossible! I read right here many times the wall was never going to be built!
So this is clearly fake news.
This is not the wall. This is fence replacement, not any of the great wall prototypes that would actually work (and that the bill he signed today gives zero funding for).
It’s hugh and series though!
Is this it? Can't get the video going. It's got a broken symbol for me. I hope some 6-year-old with a rope and a bow and arrow doesn't climb it tomorrow.
“Illegals cross at McAllen at higher numbers. Should have started the wall at the tip of TX and build continuously to the west rather than a little here and a little there.”
This year, 33 miles of new barrier was funded for Rio Grande Valley around McAllen. It is currently in the works, with contracts likely being awarded after Christmas. Work has already started on 28 miles in San Diego, 2.25 miles in Calexico, as well as this 4 miles in downtown El Paso, and another 20 miles heading out West from El Paso.
That area (around McAllen) alone gets about 500 apprehensions a day, so it will make a big impact. During the Bush-era fence building, Brownsville/Matamoros got a lot of good barrier, but McAllen was left with lots of big gaps - miles wide. This 33 Miles will fill the gaps South of McAllen, except for 3 miles in the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge. The next year of funding has been rumored to pretty cover the Rio Grande Valley from Falcon lake to Gulf, with just a few gaps, like the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge.
The start of work is later there for a few big reasons. There are lots of landowners that have to be settled with. The floodplain of the Rio Grande basically requires that border barrier be built on top of levees, which make it a bigger job, and they don’t track the border exactly - they can be more than a mile inside the USA.
Trump is putting in really strong barrier (which will stop a speeding dump truck), set in concrete over two feet thick and six feet deep. It comes with good patrol road, lights, cameras and alarms. He is putting in the areas of highest crossing (urban areas like San Diego, El Paso, and the Rio Grande Valley) even though those are the toughest areas to get built.
Yeah i thought this was about 12 feet short.
Most of what is being installed this year is this, along with all weather patrol road, lights, cameras and sensors (alarms).
“So which company was chosen? Which plan? There was a time when several companies built prototypes... Which design was chosen?”
The evaluation report for the prototype testing recommended that the lessons learned from the prototypes be incorporated into future designs - with different designs being tailored to the local conditions. So no one design was picked - it was an experiment.
The bottom line with the design though, is that the Border Patrol very strongly prefers these heavy steel bollards, that they can see through.
It gives them a lot more early warning to react, lets them know exactly what they are dealing with, and helps keeps people away from the fence (where they can be seen from the cameras). The only big changes that we are likely to see, are possibly taller bollards (like the 30 foot bollards now going into Calexico), or new anti-climb features, like barrel tops. What we can’t see are better materials, and better sensors/alarms. Another change from a lot of the prior construction, is also generally better patrol road, lights and cameras.
In terms of what company, the US Army Corps of Engineers has pre-qualified a pool of companies for their long term standing contract vehicles (MATOC Horizontal Construction) in the different sectors of the border, who will bid on each segment, as they contract it out piece by piece.
This 4 mile segment downtown El Paso went to a company called West Point, but other companies are currently working on other segments.
It should be explained, millions have literally walked into the U.S. and have been welcomed in by both parties for decades. Until Trump.
An 18’ wall will clearly be a deterrent to millions thinking about entering illegally. They won’t even try. Will it stop every single person? No. But it will stop this conga line of millions from entering at will. Btw, a fall from 18’ you’ll either end up dead or busted up in a wheelchair.
I hope that never happens. My son-in-law is working on a section now. If you can see everything going on so can those that wish to protest, harass...also smugglers don’t need to know exactly what is going on or what security is there on the job site.
My son-in-law worked on part of the fence in AZ during the Bush administration and they were assaulted by rocks and threatened by armed people. That was without everyone knowing what was going on. There are some truly bad folks interested in all of this so the less publicity the better as far as live feeds go for sure.
One thing I can say- just because you hear nothing is happening on the border, does not mean nothing is happening. The media usually is the last to know, and if it does not fit their agenda they will not report, or will lie.
I want the wall/secure fence as bad as anyone and I live less than 10 miles from the border. I am happy with the progress, taking into consideration that Congress refuses to properly fund it.
If we want real progress we will have to hold Congress’ feet to the fire to get funding.
This money will come back from Mexico- through trade agreements which will be more profitable to us and proposals already made to raise the cost of I-94s and a possible tax or fee on remittance made to other countries. The thing is we have to get it built now, the sooner the better. Congress needs to fund.
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