U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), has awarded a contract to construct approximately 15 miles of new border wall system within U.S. Border Patrol’s (USBP) Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector located in Starr County, Texas.
This project 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 2020, pending availability of real estate, in locations where no barriers currently exist.
The contract was awarded to Southwest Valley Constructors Co. for a total contract value, including options, of $179,580,000. This project consists of four non-contiguous segments, which will connect to other new border wall segments, within Roma, Rio Grande City, Escobares, La Grulla and the census designated place of Salineño, Texas. This project is funded by CBP’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 and 2019 appropriations.
Pursuant to the FY 2019 appropriation, CBP completed additional consultation with local elected officials from Starr County who represent the areas of Roma, Rio Grande City, Escobares, La Grulla and the census designated place of Salineño concerning the proposed alignment and design of the planned border wall system in the affected areas.
RGV is the busiest Sector in the nation and, for the FY to date, accounts for approximately 25% of the illegal alien apprehensions and ranks first in seized cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana along the southwest border. The majority of its activity is occurring in areas where RGV has limited infrastructure, access and mobility, and technology.
