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More than 100 federal border-security buoys broke free Thursday in the flooded Rio Grande and floated toward Eagle Pass, prompting officials to temporarily close the city’s two international bridges to Mexico.
The Texas Division of Emergency Management and Eagle Pass Police Chief Amy Gonzalez confirmed to Texas Rep. Eddie Morales Jr. that the buoys were carried downstream from the Quemado area. Morales said his office asked TDEM Chief Nim Kidd to provide state equipment and personnel to help federal officials and contractors retrieve the barriers.
No injuries or structural damage to the bridges have been reported. The closures were ordered as a precaution while the large barriers and other flood debris moved through the port of entry.
Farther downstream, Laredo activated its emergency operations center and warned that the buoys could eventually threaten its four international bridges. Officials authorized police, firefighters and emergency personnel to monitor and remove the barriers.
Officials are using drones to track the buoys and say one or more of Laredo’s four international bridges could be closed if the debris poses a danger. Residents have been told not to approach or touch any of the barriers.
The incident renews questions about the Department of Homeland Security’s “Operation River Wall,” a plan to install more than 500 miles of connected buoy barriers along the Texas-Mexico border. DHS says the barriers are intended to deter unlawful crossings.
Customs and Border Protection previously said the system was engineered to withstand a 100-year flood. But river experts and environmental advocates warned that sections could detach during extreme flooding and become trapped against bridges or other infrastructure.
In March, fluvial geomorphologist Mark Tompkins told TPR that breakaway buoy sections could create serious problems if they struck a bridge. Researchers also questioned whether the barriers’ anchors could withstand the Rio Grande’s force during a major flood.
Officials said shipping containers, temporary fencing and Texas’ ground Operation Lone Star buoys were removed from Shelby Park in Eagle Pass before the river rose. However, cylindrical buoys belonging to the federal government had been staged in the park, and crews were working to remove those that remained.
