Construction started Friday morning
Yuma, Arizona (KECY, KYMA) – Governor Doug Ducey (R-Arizona) has issued an Executive Order directing the Arizona Military Emergency Department to immediately fill the gaps in the Yuma border wall with shipping containers.
We’ve had enough of Arizona,” Ducey said. “We cannot wait any longer. The lack of urgency in border security by the Biden administration is a dereliction of duty. Time and time again we have stepped in to clean up their mess.The people of Arizona can’t wait any longer for the federal government to deliver on its belated promises.”
Strengthening the border are 60 double-stacked shipping containers reinforced with concertina wire at the top.
The shipping container is approximately 22 feet tall. The state-owned 8,800-pound, 9-by-40-foot container will be articulated and welded shut. The border wall panels built during the Trump administration are 30 feet high.
Construction began Friday morning in a gap thousands of feet in the border wall near Yuma, Arizona. Emergency management contractor Ashbulit is building a barrier. The 25 person team includes heavy equipment operators, operations supervisors and safety officers. The project will be completed over the weekend.
See Executive Order here.
The news comes two days after Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) was in Yuma touting his efforts to close the gap in the border wall.
Related article: Arizona Senator Mark Kelly visits Yuma border
Arizona Department of Homeland Security Director Tim Romer said while this construction is taking place on federal land, Arizona is taking matters into its own hands.
“We are taking action today because the situation is so dire,” Roemer said.
The action came about eight months after the Biden administration said it would close the gap in the wall.
“We are grateful to the governor for his help,” said county superintendent Jonathan Lines.
He is also confident that the construction will not adversely affect the agricultural industry along the border.
“We worked with local farmers and they approved both temporary and permanent construction plans,” Lines said.
Even if the walls of the shipping container go up. Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls maintains a regional emergency due to border issues.
“At the moment there is no dramatic change in what the tide will be, so we are holding firm to that declaration,” Nichols said.
