15 miles a month? 180 miles a year? I thought Trump was talking about 400 new miles by the election. (And that’s too slow for me.) It at least sounds like our defense arteries have completely hardened with a bad case of bureaucratic sclerosis. (I mean, we actually won a war a mere 75 years ago!)
“15 miles a month? 180 miles a year? I thought Trump was talking about 400 new miles by the election.”
The 400 miles before the election will be funded and awarded on contract (it may well be closer to 500). It sounds like Secretary Shanahan is talking about actually built, rather than just on contract.
Also, he is likely just talking about the projects that his Department (DoD) is funding. DHS has there own funding, with 80 miles on contract (underway or starting soon) and $1.375 billion for 55 miles in the Rio Grande Valley, that is still in the contracting process.
So far we have averaged about a half mile per week, rather than a half mile per day. But average rates can be misleading, Because the first year was basically planning and preparation, and this year got the big money bomb.
The bottom line is that we now seem to be off to the races in building border barrier. This Summer and Fall should see activity ramping up sharply, and continuing through next year.
If nothing gets in the way, I could see 300 miles standing before the election, with about 200 more miles funded and underway on contract - plus whatever money the President gets for 2020. He is expected to request $8.6 billion - roughly enough to complete the planned 1,100 miles.