Trump ramps up border-wall construction ahead of 2020 vote

The president's barrier is one of the largest federal infrastructure projects in the nation's history. Here's what his administration has built so far and where it plans to build next.

The southern U.S. border has about 650 miles of barriers that take a variety of forms. In more-urban areas, tall "pedestrian" fences are in place to stop people from crossing. In remote areas, the government uses "vehicle barriers" made from old railroad tracks. In mountainous areas and long stretches that follow the Rio Grande, there is no man-made structure.

The Washington Post has obtained detailed U.S. government data about Trump's border-wall project, its construction progress and contracts for each segment of the structure. The data shows the Trump administration is far from delivering on the president's promise to finish more than 500 miles of new barriers by early next year. Though Trump had insisted Mexico would pay for the project, it has been funded entirely by the U.S. government, at costs that reach nearly $30 million per mile in southern Texas.

[Smugglers are sawing through new sections of Trump's border wall]

The Trump administration is installing a structure far more formidable than anything previously in place along the border. The new structure has steel bollards, anchored in concrete, that reach 18 to 30 feet in height and will have lighting, cameras, sensors and improved roads to allow U.S. agents to respond quickly along an expanded "enforcement zone."

Government contractors erect a 30-foot-high section of new Pentagon-funded border wall along the Colorado River in September in Yuma, Ariz. (Matt York/AP)

The San Diego sector of the border wall in April 2018. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)

Vehicle barriers across a riverbed along the border in early January near Hereford, Ariz. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)

Nearly all of the new fencing the Trump administration has built so far is considered "replacement" fencing, swapping out smaller, older vehicle barriers for a more elaborate — and costly — "border wall system."

The administration has been slower to build new barriers where none currently exist, primarily because those spans require the acquisition of private land. Even with the slated construction goals, most of the southern border will not have a man-made barrier.

Pre-construction status of the southern border

Trump has promised to build at least 500 miles of new fencing by early next year, and his administration has completed about 110 miles so far. To meet the president's targets, crews will need to add about 30 linear miles of barrier per month throughout 2020, more than double the current pace of construction.

Border-wall status reports obtained by The Post detail how much new construction the administration expects each month to finish 509 miles of new barrier by August 2021.

With the pace of construction lagging behind Trump's targets, Department of Homeland Security officials have tried to lower expectations, saying they will have 450 miles completed or "under construction" by the end of the year.

Expected vs. actual construction progress

In many cases, people are unwilling to hand their land over to the government or allow its use for the construction of border barriers, in part because it could split plots and restrict land use, block river access, affect scenic views or reduce land values. Some have vowed to fight.

Construction on public vs. private land

Budget and spending

The White House is planning to divert an additional $7.2 billion from this year's military budget, bringing the total amount of money available for the project to $18.4 billion, enough to complete nearly 900 miles of new barriers by 2022. Of that, just $5.1 billion has been authorized by lawmakers. The rest is coming from Defense Department funding, primarily through the Pentagon's counternarcotics accounts and military construction budgets.

Legal challenges to Trump's authority to spend money that Congress originally authorized for other purposes have at times temporarily blocked this White House tactic, but courts have sided with the administration.

Sources of funding

Each represents $1 million

Department of Homeland Security

DHS

Routine appropiation

$5.1 billion

Defense Department

Defense Dept.

National emergency funding

$3.6 billion

$3.7 billion planned additional funding

$3.7 billion planned additional funding

Defense Department

DOD

Routine appropiation

$2.5 billion

$3.5 billion planned additional funding

$3.5 billion planned additional funding

Data as of Jan. 23.

The private contractors who are receiving this money to build the structure comprise a range of large conglomerates and smaller companies. Most have tried to maintain a low profile, but the CEO of one firm, North Dakota-based Fisher Industries, has pursued an aggressive campaign to promote his company through lobbying efforts and appearances on Fox News.

Trump personally urged military officials to hire Fisher, and the company recently won a $400 million contract. Several lawmakers raised concerns about the bidding process, and the contract is now under review by the Pentagon's inspector general.

Fund allocations to private contractors

Each represents $1 million

SWVC (Kiewit)

$1.77 billion

$1.77 billion

SLSCO

$1.52 billion

$1.52 billion

BFBC

$700 million

$700 million

Southern Border Constructors

$516 million

$516 million

Fisher Sand and Gravel

$400 million

$400 million

Barnard Construction

$322 million

$322 million

Caddell Construction

$297 million

$297 million

SWF Constructors

$25 million

$25 million

West Point Contractors

$25 million

$25 million

Data as of Nov. 14.

Explore the contracts

Explore the billions of dollars in contracts that the federal government has issued for wall construction as of Nov. 14, including completed wall sections, those under construction and those that are considered "pre-construction."

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: Federal

Contractor: SWF Constructors

Total miles: 2

Miles built: 2

Progress: 100%

$25 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $12.5 million per mile.

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: Federal

Contractor: Barnard Construction

Total miles: 20

Miles built: 20

Progress: 100%

$79 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $4.0 million per mile.

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: Federal

Contractor: SLSCO

Total miles: 14

Miles built: 14

Progress: 100%

$153 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $10.9 million per mile.

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: Federal

Contractor: West Point Contractors

Total miles: 4

Miles built: 4

Progress: 100%

$25 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $6.3 million per mile.

Construction type: Levee wall

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: SLSCO

Total miles: 8

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0.08%

$194 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $24.3 million per mile.

Construction type: New

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: Kiewit Infrastructure West

Total miles: 3

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$50 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $16.7 million per mile.

Construction type: Secondary fence

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: SLSCO

Total miles: 14

Miles built: 10.7

Progress: 76.33%

$132 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $9.4 million per mile.

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: Federal

Contractor: Barnard Construction

Total miles: 22

Miles built: 25.3

Progress: 97.47%

$243 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $11.0 million per mile.

Construction type: New

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: Southwest Valley Constructors (Kiewit)

Total miles: 4

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$84 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $21.0 million per mile.

Construction type: Levee wall

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: SLSCO

Total miles: 5

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$165 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $33.0 million per mile.

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: SLSCO

Total miles: 11

Miles built: 4.5

Progress: 29.96%

$140 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $12.7 million per mile.

Construction type: Non-levee wall

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: To be determined

Total miles: 14

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$178 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $12.7 million per mile.

Construction type: New

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: Southwest Valley Constructors (Kiewit)

Total miles: 11

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$345 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $31.4 million per mile.

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: DHS

Contractor: SLSCO

Total miles: 46

Miles built: 2.5

Progress: 5.4%

$739 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $16.1 million per mile.

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: DHS

Contractor: BFBC

Total miles: 15

Miles built: 2.9

Progress: 19.1%

$319 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $21.3 million per mile.

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: DHS

Contractor: BFBC

Total miles: 10

Miles built: 0.8

Progress: 16.7%

$121 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $12.1 million per mile.

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: DHS

Contractor: Southwest Valley Constructors (Kiewit)

Total miles: 38

Miles built: 0.7

Progress: 1.9%

$789 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $20.8 million per mile.

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: DHS

Contractor: Southwest Valley Constructors (Kiewit)

Total miles: 5

Miles built: 0.8

Progress: 16.9%

$102 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $20.4 million per mile.

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: Federal

Contractor: Southwest Valley Constructors (Kiewit)

Total miles: 20

Miles built: 0.2

Progress: 1.2%

$408 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $20.4 million per mile.

Construction type: New

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: Southern Border Constructors

Total miles: 21

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$258 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $12.3 million per mile.

Construction type: New

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: Southern Border Constructors

Total miles: 22

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$258 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $11.7 million per mile.

Construction type: New

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: Caddell Construction

Total miles: 22

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$297 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $13.5 million per mile.

Construction type: New

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: To be determined

Total miles: 2

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$40 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $20.0 million per mile.

Construction type: New secondary

Land ownership: Defense Dept.

Contractor: BFBC

Total miles: 31

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$260 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $8.4 million per mile.

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: Federal

Contractor: To be determined

Total miles: 27

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$636 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $23.6 million per mile.

Construction type: Replacement

Land ownership: DHS

Contractor: To be determined

Total miles: 30

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$492 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $16.4 million per mile.

Construction type: New primary

Land ownership: Interior Dept.

Contractor: To be determined

Total miles: 4

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$72 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $18.0 million per mile.

Construction type: New primary

Land ownership: Interior Dept.

Contractor: To be determined

Total miles: 6

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$70 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $11.7 million per mile.

Construction type: New primary

Land ownership: Federal

Contractor: To be determined

Total miles: 8

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$170 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $21.3 million per mile.

Construction type: New secondary

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: To be determined

Total miles: 11

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$62 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $5.6 million per mile.

Construction type: New secondary

Land ownership: DHS

Contractor: To be determined

Total miles: 5

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$25 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $5.0 million per mile.

Construction type: New primary

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: To be determined

Total miles: 52

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$1.3 billion has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $24.5 million per mile.

Construction type: New secondary

Land ownership: Private

Contractor: To be determined

Total miles: 9

Miles built: 0

Progress: 0%

$294 million has been allocated to build this section of the wall at a cost of $32.7 million per mile.

Nick Miroff

Nick Miroff covers immigration enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security for The Washington Post. He was a Post foreign correspondent in Latin America from 2010 to 2017, and has been a staff writer since 2006.

Adrian Blanco

Adrián Blanco Ramos is a graphic reporter in the graphics department at The Washington Post. He previously worked at Spanish newspaper El Confidencial focusing on data visualization, data analysis and investigative journalism. He participated in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalist's Paradise Papers investigation.

Josh Dawsey, Danielle Rindler and Chris Alcantara contributed to this report.

About this story

Data from The Washington Post reporting and U.S. government documentation about the border barriers obtained by The Washington Post.