Engineering News-Record by Mary B. Powers 8/22/2018
The Trump Administration seeks more contractors to upgrade existing Mexico border barriers even as a federal court decides if it's still legal for the government to waive U.S. environmental laws to speed construction and as a government watchdog report says the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security did not fully consider costs for a possible larger border wall in all needed locations in its prototypes.
A public version of the U.S. Government Accountability Office report on border wall designs and locations released Aug. 6 found that DHS priorities included data on illegal entry into the U.S. but no analysis of constructibility factors such as hydrology, slope and geophysics.
The agency averaged cost per mile rather than determining cost for each construction project, GAO says. DHS estimated a price of $18 billion for 722 miles of barrier, but, without other cost parameters, the wall could “cost more than projected, take longer than planned, or not fully perform as expected,†says the report, which calls for such analysis in future planning.
In March 2017, DHS sought bids for prototype wall designs using reinforced concrete and allowing other materials. Six firms built eight prototypes from which the agency identified criteria to customize barriers in specific locations.
An analysis by DHS and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers showed that the four concrete designs would pose extensive construction challenges, especially on sloping terrain.
More:
https://www.enr.com/articles/45053-trump-administration-seeks-border-wall-builders-as-gao-warns-about-costs
