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First Border Barrier In Starr County Approved

Mani Albrecht
/
Wikimedia Commons | http://bit.ly/2QBvUB9
Border wall prototype

Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley is getting its first border barrier. It will stretch 3 miles long and cost more than $43 million.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, awarded the construction contract to Kiewit Infrastructure West Company. The barrier will be 18 to 30 feet tall, according to a CBP statement. The contract also includes road construction, detection technology and lighting installation.

During a call last week, a CBP official said the steel bollard wall will be built on federal land between the cities of Salineño and Escobares.

The CBP official also said about 50 more miles of border wall is expected to be built in the county. The money is coming from Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations, and construction for the three-mile project is expected to begin in August.

Reynaldo Leaños Jr. can be reached at Reynaldo@TPR.org and on Twitter at @ReynaldoLeanos

Reynaldo Leaños Jr. can be reached at reynaldo@tpr.org and on Twitter at @ReynaldoLeanos