ALBUQUERQUE – About half of a 66-mile portion of a new border wall system is completed in southern New Mexico that is replacing vehicle barriers and other blockades already in place, border officials said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Roger Maier said about 30 miles of the 18-to-30-foot tall bollard wall is completed, the Albuquerque Journal reported. Another 36 miles of the project through Doña Ana and Luna counties is expected to be completed in the coming months, he said.
Future construction includes “a combination of both – in place of existing, and in locations where no barriers currently exist,” Maier said, adding that another 90 miles of wall in the state is in the preconstruction phase.
The newly constructed wall is part of a larger $15 billion plan to build 753 miles along the U.S.-Mexico border to replace existing barriers or be placed in areas where there are no barriers, agency officials said.
The plan includes building 348 miles combined of primary and secondary wall in areas where no barriers currently exist, and 405 miles of wall where barriers are dilapidated and outdated.
