Arizona to close Yuma wall gaps using shipping containers
Construction began Friday morning
YUMA, AZ (KECY, KYMA) - Gov. Doug Ducey (R-Arizona) issued an Executive Order directing the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs to immediately fill the gaps in the Yuma border wall with shipping containers.
Arizona has had enough,” said Governor Ducey. “We can’t wait any longer. The Biden administration’s lack of urgency on border security is a dereliction of duty. For the last two years, Arizona has made every attempt to work with Washington to address the crisis on our border. Time and time again we’ve stepped in to clean up their mess. Arizonans can’t wait any longer for the federal government to deliver on their delayed promises.”
Fortifying the border will be 60 double-stacked shipping containers, reinforced with concertina wire at the top.
The shipping containers will reach about 22-feet high. The state-owned, 8,800-pound, 9-by-40-feet containers will be linked together and welded shut. The panels of the border wall constructed during the Trump administration are 30-feet high.
Construction began Friday morning on the thousand-foot gap in the border wall near Yuma, Arizona. Emergency management contractor Ashbritt is constructing the barriers. The 25-person team includes heavy equipment operators, operation supervisors and a safety manager. The project will be completed over the weekend.
View the Executive Order HERE.
The news comes two days after Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) was in Yuma touting his efforts to get the border wall gaps filled.
Related stories: Arizona Senator Mark Kelly visits the Yuma border
Arizona Department of Homeland Security Director Tim Roemer says while this construction is taking place on federal land, the state of Arizona is taking matters into its own hands.
“The situation is so dire that’s why we’re taking action today,” Roemer said.
Taking action nearly eight months since the Biden Administration said they’d be closing the wall gaps.
“I’m grateful for the governor stepping up,” County Supervisor Jonathan Lines said.
He also is confident this construction will not negatively impact the ag industry along the border.
“We worked with local farmers, and they signed off on both the temporary and permanent construction plans,” Lines said.
Even with the shipping container wall going up. Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls is keeping the local emergency due to the border issues in place.
“At this point there’s no dramatic change with how the flow is coming, so we’re holding tight with that proclamation,” Nicholls said.
