The federal government began work Wednesday on replacing border wall in California, the first wall contract awarded in the Trump administration outside of eight prototypes that were built last year in San Diego.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is replacing a little more than two miles in downtown Calexico, a sliver of the president’s plan for a “big, beautiful wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border. A barrier built in the 1990s from recycled metal scraps and landing mat will be torn down in favor of bollard-style barriers that are 30 feet high, significantly taller than existing walls.

The administration is seeking $18 billion to extend the wall. Efforts to pay for it as part of a broader immigration package that would include granting legal status to people who came to the country as children failed in the Senate last week.

In November, SWF Constructors of Omaha won a contract for $18 million to replace wall in Calexico, about 120 miles east of San Diego. It encompasses an area bisected by the New River, where smugglers are known to guide people through polluted waters. The project, which includes a bridge over the river, is expected to take 300 days.

The administration cleared the way for construction in September by waiving dozens of environmental reviews and other evaluations in Calexico.(Source: The Washington Post)

Story Date: March 5, 2018