Laredo To Receive Additional Border Wall System
WASHINGTON – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), has awarded two contracts to construct approximately 40 miles of contiguous new border wall system within U.S. Border Patrol’s (USBP) Laredo Sector located in Webb County, Texas. Construction will occur where no barriers currently exist.
These projects will include a 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 September 2021, pending availability of real estate.
The contract for approximately 27 miles was awarded to Fisher Sand & Gravel Co., for a total contract value of $283,150,000. This project is funded by CBP’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 appropriations.
The second contract for approximately 13 miles was awarded to Southwest Valley Constructors Co., for a total contract value of $201,250,000. This project is funded by CBP’s FY 2020 appropriations.
The Laredo Sector is an area of high illegal activity, with over 43,000 illegal entry encounters and over 39,000 pounds of drugs seized FY 2020 through the end of August. The majority of its activity is occurring in areas where the Laredo Sector lacks infrastructure, access and mobility, and technology.
These projects will improve the Laredo Sector’s ability to impede and deny illegal border crossings and the drug and human smuggling activities of transnational criminal organizations.
CBP continues to implement President Trump’s Executive Order 13767 – also known as Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements – taking steps to expeditiously plan, design, and construct a physical wall using appropriate materials and technology to most effectively achieve operational control of the southern border.
