Border Wall Construction Heats Up

Customs and Border Protection officials say more than $770 million in contracts have been awarded in recent weeks for wall construction between Mexico and the United States. The money is going towards construction of 57 miles of wall in Laredo, Texas.

The projects include a steel fence 30 feet high, new roads, lighting, and technology including security cameras.

Companies receiving the contracts include Fisher Sand & Gravel and Southwest Valley Constructors. Work is expected to begin in September of 2021.

The anticipated start time of course could be affected by the results of the presidential election. For now, President Trump is trying to get as much wall built before the end of his first term in office.

According to The Washington Post, about two miles of wall is going up each day, which is a vastly accelerated pace from the beginning of the year.

Border officials say crews have been working around the clock, seven days a week in many locations.

Since President Trump took office, crews have installed more than 340 miles of fence. Another 100 miles is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

Another 400 miles of wall is either in the middle of construction or about to start. The Mexico-U.S. border is approximately 2,000 miles long in total.

There is concern some portions of the wall already built have structural problems and could fail in the future.