Contract Awards for New Border Wall System in the Rio Grande Valley

CBP... has awarded three contracts to construct up to approximately 65 miles of new (ALL NEW) border wall system within U.S. Border Patrol’s (USBP) Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector located in Starr, Hidalgo and Cameron Counties in Texas... (It) will include an 18-30 foot tall steel bollard wall, all-weather roads, lighting, enforcement cameras, and other related technology to create a complete enforcement zone. Construction is anticipated to begin in early 2020, pending availability of real estate, and will take place in locations where no barriers currently exist.

(September 29) a contract to construct up to approximately 21 miles of new border wall system located within Starr County, Texas was awarded to Southern Border Constructors for the base contract amount of $120,412,400. The total contract value, including options, is $257,808,800 The project area begins west of Falcon Dam Port of Entry and extends eastward, in five non-contiguous segments, which will connect to other new border wall segments.

(September 29) a contract to construct up to approximately 22 miles of new border wall system located within Starr and Hidalgo Counties, Texas was awarded to Southern Border Constructors for the base contract amount of $110,022,700. The total contract value, including options, is $258,085,400. The project area begins east of the Rio Grande City Port of Entry and extends eastward, in two non-contiguous segments, which will connect to other new border wall segments.

(September 29) a contract to construct up to approximately 22 miles of new border wall system located within Cameron and Hidalgo Counties, Texas was awarded to Gibraltar-Caddell Joint Venture for the base contract amount of $155,269,992. The total contract value, including options, is $296,709,805. The project area begins east of the Pharr Port of Entry and extends eastward, in 12 non-contiguous segments, which will connect to other new border wall segments.

“I get tired of the naysayers”

A lot of people fail to appreciate the long lead time required for a (professionally managed) multi-billion dollar Federal Program. Year’s of complex effort must precede laying the keel of a new carrier, for example.

This barrier program is just now entering full scale deployment, after a period of frenetic analysis, planning and preparation.

A comprehensive tradeoff analysis on how to best achieve full operational control of the Southern Border was kicked off by President Trump’s EO 13767, five days after taking office. The Office of Management and Budget, and the Congressional Budget Office’s green eye-shade accountants, and every Leftist mole threw their twenty questions at it, until no one could raise any further real objection, and Congress finally accepted the Comprehensive Plan in December of 2018 ($25 billion over five years, 1,100 miles of barrier, several thousand full time positions and several technology programs).

The designs have been analyzed, and their contract specifications have been finalized and certified. Every mile of the border has been analyzed to precisely finalize the route and prioritize each segment. Special high dollar cap contracts have been established with vendors pre-approved for rapid bid and award of task orders. Leftist lawsuits were defeated. Land acquisition activities have been vigorously underway.

Once the plan was accepted last December, it became a matter of just add money. The President was prepared to provide the funding as soon as the Program was ready, despite the Democrat takeover of Congress, and their reneging on appropriations. He did not even wait till the y appropriations bill came to his desk - as soon as it was announced they had finished (without adequate wall funding) he announced his historic, bold emergency declaration (obviously long since planned and prepared).

We are off to the races with construction now - lots more contracts are coming in the next months, with the MILCON money. 509 miles are currently finished, on contract, or funded, pending award. These are the highest priority miles, getting the top of the line “Wall System” that includes tall solid barrier, good roads, lights, cameras, sensors and alarm systems. A system that is proving to be hugely effective where it is installed.

San Diego is being buttoned up tight with this new system (Apprehensions down 90%), and is on track to complete in January. All of the remaining apprehensions there (ALL) are in the gap where the new 30 foot secondary barrier has not yet been completed. Come January, they will have to go around that barrier - there will be no more going through it or over it.

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