Sounds good, but 33 million for 4 miles? I hope this is because they have to build levy or something as well. I just cant understand why this would cost 8 million a mile otherwise.
What does it matter how much it costs as long as it gets built?
“33 million for 4 miles?”
I doubt there is levee for that price. Levee wall runs $20-25 million per mile.
When you get to the Western end of the Rio Grande Valley (like around Roma, where these segments are going), the American side of the river has some pretty high bluffs/banks - maybe 40 or 50 feet high.
Bollards, roads, lights and alarms could easily cost $8 million per mile. In some cases, contracts have been awarded closer to $15 million per mile for similar system. Local costs and terrain vary quite a bit.
Smaller awards also spread all the setup and cleanup and administrative overhead across fewer miles, but it is particularly hard to get a nice long run all ready to go in a single award down in the Rio Grande Valley. Lots of individual property owners and lots of Congressional limits get in the way.
They make good, capable contractors compete for each award, to help control costs.