Border wall construction to hit Yuma in April

Update: Customs and Border Protection has confirmed to News 11 that the 27 miles of construction will be located east and west of the San Luis Port of Entry. Construction is expected to last until June 2020.

Original:

Fourteen miles worth of border wall construction will begin in Yuma in April.

CBP confirmed Barnard Construction Company, Inc, was awarded a base contract Tuesday of $172 million to fund the 14 miles.

As part of the Arizona projects, Yuma will undergo approximately 27 miles of construction and installation of upgraded tactical groundwork in the Yuma area, according to Customs and Border Protection.

The focus on the primary pedestrian replacement wall is to improve the sector’s ability to prevent and counter illegal border crossing and drug and human smuggling activities of transnational criminal organizations, according to CBP.

In August, a cross-border drug tunnel run by the Sinaloa drug cartel was found in San Luis, Arizona.

The total contract value is nearly $324 million, including options, according to CBP.

This is all a part of implementing President Trump’s executive order called Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements.

We have reached out to Customs and Border Protection to find out where construction will take place within the Yuma sector.