Overview
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection says steel bollard panel installation will begin in the Big Bend sector with BB3 work slated for August and BB1 and BB2 expected in September, together accounting for about 171.9 miles of primary barrier.
- The administration’s ‘Smart Wall’ pairs physical barriers with patrol roads, cameras, sensors, lighting, vehicle obstacles and occasional waterborne barriers to increase detection and agent access across remote terrain.
- CBP has awarded multiple multi‑billion dollar contracts for the program to firms including Fisher Sand & Gravel, Barnard Construction Co., and Southwest Valley Constructors, and reporting indicates steel panels and materials have been staged near the park.
- Public comment periods are open through July 13 for some segments, while landowners have received survey and eminent‑domain notices and more than 130 groups and local officials have filed or signaled legal and administrative challenges.
- CBP says it is coordinating with the National Park Service and state agencies, will not build 30‑foot barriers inside core parklands, and plans wildlife passages and drainage gates, but neighbors and conservationists warn of lost river access, harm to wildlife corridors and threats to cultural sites such as Mount Cristo Rey.