Trump’s $5 Billion Request Will Build 215 Miles of Border Wall

Breitbart ^ | 29 Nov 2018 | Neil Munro

[BeauBo]

The $5 billion addition will buy “215 miles of Border Patrol’s highest priority border wall miles,” said a statement by agency spokeswoman Katie Waldman.

[Gator113]

Spend the money on ammo and have our military shoot them as they try to cross.

[shanover]

It may be too late for a wall. When the Democrats get back into real power,they will campaign on “Tear down that wall!” They will by choking it by its funding,manpower and maintenance. Secondly, Obama was able to fill the country with every third world non assimilating freeloading third-turder and their urchin in the world by Airplane in the dead of night while nobody was looking. Most cities and many rural areas look like third world sh*tholes.

[SFConservative]

That’s $4,400.00 per foot. I did subcontracting on government projects for many years and that seem like ridiculous to infinity.

It seems very high but maybe not so much when you consider the wall height above the terrain, the deep footings needed to support that mass, drainage, roads, servicing infrastructure, electronic sensors and optical monitoring equipment, lighting, radio equipment, power generation and distribution, anti-sabotage measures, central monitoring stations and more.

These sections are in some of the most active parts of the border and are therefore not just passive, dumb barriers. Subsequent wall sections are likely to be more passive and cost much less per mile.

[slorunner]

I am a professional construction estimator who has done cost estimates on the wall.

I would say that $23 1/4 million / mile is about double what the average cost should be. (less alligators & land mines).

Assuming this first installment includes urban high priority sections call it 50% high.

[momincombatboots]

Wall funding so soon? Gosh the gop are just so quick to fulfill promises. We are indeed saved.
All of that chuck n nancy spending is paying off quickly, huh?

[Daniel Ramsey]

Just stack connex containers 3 or 4 high, pump concrete slurry into the first two, or dig a trench first and then start stacking. No shortage of connex containers.

[Lopeover]

I want the Congress to fully fund the entire wall. Not fencing, not wire rolls.

[going hot]

I think he will take the money first, but he will apply some Trump building guidelines, and get a much longer wall for the money, under budget, and on time.

Just need to secure the funds first.

[BeauBo]

"I know it’s a government contract, but $23 million for a mile? That seems expensive."

The information in this article is probably not complete - they might end up building more. But here are a few considerations on the average cost per mile.

So far under President Trump, wall segments have been contracted for as little as under $4 million per mile, for the 20 miles West of El Paso, to almost $24 million per million in the recent Rio Grande Valley awards.

The Rio Grande Valley is the hardest, most expensive, and most important part of the whole border wall. There the foundation of the wall must be a very deep and massive reinforced concrete levee structure, certified by FEMA for controlling floods during hurricanes, rather than just a simple six foot trench.

Hurricane levee wall foundation (May have to go thirty or more feet deep, and the deepest footing must be exceptionally thick and wide):

Typical bollard foundation (two feet thick and six feet or more deep, heavily reinforced with rebar)

Also, the RGV is the most heavily trafficked part of the border, requiring the most technology - lights, cameras, alarm systems. Finally, the land there is almost all privately owned, requiring extra budget for compensating landowners, legal costs, and adding accommodations, like extra gates, or pumping/piping river water to the other side of the barrier for the landowners use.

Not all of the $5 billion may be going to barrier building. There has been a big push to start a five year technology program to bring all the rural areas of the border under full operational control, while the barrier is built in the urban areas. Some of the $5 billion might be going toward additional technology or people - even possibly to house more detainees, rather than catch and release.

Finally, there may be more segments planned, that they just didn't mention. They did that with both the FY17 and FY18 appropriations as well. Several of the projects were not revealed publicly until contracts were awarded, while others were revealed a year in advance. The four miles in the downtown El Paso neighborhood of Chihuahita was not revealed publicly, until contractors arrived to set up for groundbreaking the very next day.

I think it is quite possible that the remaining 65 miles in the Rio Grande Valley could run around $25 million per mile, but elsewhere $5-10 million per mile will be more common.

$5-10 million per mile is comparable to cost during the Bush-era fence building program, but the barrier going in now is far superior.

[BeauBo]

“I want the Congress to fully fund the entire wall.”

You speak for many us.

[Dapper 26]

If President Trump can get funding from the Democrat controlled House for 215 miles of The Wall but could get NOTHING from the Republican controlled House, “someone” should be tared and feathered before he goes back to Wisconsin.

[trebb]

Closing the border for a substantial period would have the same effect...

[dennisw]

215 miles of border wall do a lot of good BUT must placed in the most useful areas. IOW no screwing around with placement. Do it right!

[dennisw]

bttt

[BeauBo]

“215 miles of border wall do a lot of good BUT must placed in the most useful areas.”

That is a strong point of the Trump Program - they are addressing the most important miles, regardless of how hard they are. About 100 miles in the Rio Grande Valley and the urban areas along the border (San Diego, Calexico, Yuma, Nogales, El Paso and Laredo) are the great bulk of the traffic.

What they reported for this $5 billion (if we get it), along with the previous $3.2 billion, would pretty effectively button up those areas.

While there would still be a lot of smaller towns to pass through along the border, it is harder to escape notice there. Also, smaller towns can’t support large caravans, and they would have a more difficult time disappearing on the American side in those more rural locations. So we will be strengthened against the caravan/mob rush tactic.

If we get the $5 billion, it is going to have a transformative effect on migrant flows, but organized crime cartels and the Democratic Party (I may be redundant there) will still be able to adapt, if policies and enforcement are not also strengthened.

[dennisw]

You know your border stuff!
You know who the author here is? Neil Munro who was chased by the White House press corps and hounded out because he asked Obungu an “insulting” question.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=Neil+Munro+++White+House+&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&pq=neil+munro+white+house+&sc=0-23&sk=&cvid=F78C03919C374B3386FEA52B29FA636E

Munro is one of the most knowledge reporters on illegal immigration and border security.

[BeauBo]

I thought the name Neil Munro sounded familiar.

More border wall activity today: http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3709568/posts