Federal officials awarded a $1.28 billion border wall project in Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ to a company favored by President Trump, five months after a previous contract led to accusations of improper influence and a probe by the Defense Department’s inspector general.
The Army Corps of Engineers awarded the $1.28 billion project on May 6 to Fisher Sand and Gravel, a North Dakota-based company with offices in Tempe.
The funds will go toward building about 42 miles of border wall, most of which will run from Nogales to the eastern boundary of the Tohono O’odham Nation, according to the Corps.
Tommy Fisher, head of Fisher Sand and Gravel, led a wide-ranging campaign to persuade Trump and federal officials to award wall contracts to his company.
Fisher touted his company’s wall design on numerous conservative news outlets frequently watched by Trump, paid lobbyists $145,000 to discuss the border wall with lawmakers, and invited Corps officials to watch his crews build a privately funded border wall.
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Trump repeatedly urged Corps officials to award wall contracts to Fisher last year, despite the company’s initial designs not meeting federal standards, the Washington Post reported.
When Trump told advisers last month that he wanted the wall painted black to make it more intimidating and harder to climb in hot weather, he directed them to consult with Fisher.
The inspector general audit came after Fisher Sand and Gravel was awarded a contract in early December worth up to $400 million to build 31 miles of border wall on the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge southwest of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.
ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ of the contract immediately led Democratic lawmakers to raise concerns about improper influence by Trump.
The Defense Department’s inspector general launched an audit less than two weeks later. That audit is ongoing, according to the public affairs office of the inspector general.
The Corps maintains that all procurement laws were followed with both the December contract award to Fisher and the May 6 award, says a statement from the Corps’ public affairs office.
In mid-2019, the company was included in a pre-qualified pool of contractors for border wall projects. The May 6 project was awarded to Fisher through a competitive process among those contractors.
Fisher Sand and Gravel did not respond to an inquiry from the Star.
The wall along ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s border with Mexico is made of 30-foot-tall steel poles, known as bollards, filled with concrete. The bollards are 6 inches in diameter and separated from each other by 4 inches of space.
The wall is topped with a steel plate meant to thwart climbers. At a later date, lights and cameras will be installed, along with a sensor system in the ground.
The wall was a centerpiece of Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016, and officials are pushing to complete as many miles of wall as possible before the election in November.
Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said last week during a visit to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ that he expects to see as many as 400 miles of wall completed this year. So far, about 180 miles have been built since Trump took office.
Federal officials plan to build nearly 140 miles of border wall near ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and another 100 miles near Yuma. Construction began last year and about 50 miles of wall have been built in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, with crews adding more wall every day.
The May 6 project includes seven segments. The bulk of the project starts near Nogales and runs west for 38 miles along the Coronado National Forest and Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge until it reaches the eastern boundary of the Tohono O’odham Nation, with small breaks separating the segments.
Another 4 miles of wall will go up about 10 miles east of Nogales. A section of wall measuring two-tenths of a mile will go up at or near the Santa Cruz River.
A bridge was built over the river last year to help Border Patrol agents drive through the area.
Fisher Sand and Gravel also was awarded a $7.6 million contract on April 15 to build 800 feet of wall near Yuma.
The average cost per mile of the May 6 project is $30 million, much higher than the $20 million average for most other wall projects in Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.
“While there may be similarities between projects, each project cost is contingent upon its unique characteristics, such as geotechnical, topographical, hydrological and hydraulic, underground utilities, final real estate access, and the cost of materials and labor,†said Corps spokesman Jay Field.
To speed up wall construction, the Department of Homeland Security waived numerous laws dealing with the environment, historical preservation, and other issues. In February, the department waived several procurement laws to further speed up construction on 177 miles of the border in California, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, New Mexico and Texas.
The waivers of procurement laws “had no effect†on the May 6 award to Fisher Sand and Gravel, Field said, citing the competitive award process.
So far, roughly $3.1 billion of Defense Department funds have been awarded for wall projects on the border near ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, according to figures provided by the Corps. Only a handful of the planned miles of wall near ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ do not yet have a contract.
Southwest Valley Constructors, an affiliate of the construction giant Kiewit, was awarded $524 million in late March to build about 24 miles of wall in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ County.
The company was awarded $1.3 billion last year to build 63 miles of wall in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ County and on the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Cabeza Prieta.
In contrast with Fisher Sand and Gravel, Southwest Valley Constructors has kept a low profile in terms of publicly courting federal officials.
Nearly $700 million of Defense Department funds were awarded to build about 73 miles of wall in the Yuma area, according to the Corps.
Other projects near Yuma were funded by congressional appropriations.
Photos of the U.S. – Mexico border fence
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A dog stands on a road commonly used by Border Patrol near Slaughter Ranch Museum Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A border monument on the Mexico side of the border seen east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
The San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge sits on the U.S. side of the border with Mexico east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A bull and cow graze near the site of new wall construction east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
The border seen stretching from hills east of Douglas into the Guadalupe Mountains Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
Flowers grow around border fencing near the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
Construction equipment set up at the site of new border wall construction on the US/Mexico border east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A Border Patrol tower on the hills east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
Memorials place on graves at Julia Page Memorial Park in Douglas which sits along the U.S./Mexico border Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A car drives through Douglas on a road parallel to the U.S./Mexico border wall Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
The Slaughter Ranch homestead Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A lake on the Slaughter Ranch Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
A toy rocking horse placed on the side of East Geronimo Trail with a sign advertising five minute pony rides for 25 cents Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
Highway 2 in Mexico winds its way to Agua Prieta Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
The vehicle in a ditch was driven through the international border fence in Agua Prieta, Mex., into Douglas, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in July 1987.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
Mexican citizens run back into Agua Prieta, Mexico through a hole in the border fence at Douglas, Ariz., after the U.S. Border Patrol scared them back across the border in 1997.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
The Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry on May 1, 2018, in Douglas, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.
The Douglas, Ariz., border crossing in 1968.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
U.S./Mexico border fencing next to a old church building in Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
Old border posts line the U.S./Mexico line near Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
A Soal Off Roading sticker placed on a U.S./Mexico border post near Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
Mountains in Santa Cruz County seen from Duquesne Road between Nogales and Lochiel seen Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
A monument in Lochiel marking where Fray Marcos De Niza entered ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
Brothers Ramon and Ed De La Ossa mend fencing on their family's ranch in Lochiel after moving cattle Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. The ranch which used to span both sides of the U.S./Mexico border has been in the family for three generations.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
Ed De La Ossa mends fencing on his family's ranch in Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. The ranch which used to span both sides of the U.S./Mexico border has been in the family for three generations.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
Ed De La Ossa moves cattle on his family's ranch in Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
U.S. Customs inspector Helen Mills, right, greets Mexican counterpart Raymundo Aguirre Castillo at the U.S. - Mexican border station at Lochiel, Ariz., in 1979.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.
The US Customs building, right, at Lochiel, Ariz., is just a short distance away from the international border in May 1972. For ten years, Mills has been managing the port of entry, which is mostly made up of five houses, a school and an vacant church, inspecting vehicles as they head into the US. During the week, from Monday through Saturday, Mills opens the border gate from 8 am to 10 am and from 4 pm to 6 pm. On Sunday the gate is open from 8 am to 6 pm. In that time barely a dozen vehicles make their way across the border but it is a major convenience to the local residents.Â
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
Pedestrians walk to the Nogales port of entry Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
A pedestrian walks across North Grand Avenue in Nogales near the U.S./Mexico port of entries Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer R. Hernandez uses a density-measuring device on the rear quarter-panel of a Mexico-bound passenger vehicle at the DeConcini Port of Entry on Nov. 2, 2016, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
A Customs and Border Protection officer makes a visual check of a man's identification at the DeConcini Port of Entry on Feb. 15, 2017, in Nogales, Ariz. Busts of fraudulent border-crossing documents and the use of someone else's documents plummeted in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and the rest of the border in the past decade.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
Northbound commercial truck traffic lined up for inspection at the Mariposa Port of Entry on March 28, 2017, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
In the commercial lanes a semi truck stops between the lanes looking for the first available opening at the Mariposa Port of Entry in 2015.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
Javier Castillo inspects a north-bound Mexican tractor-trailer at the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Department of Transportation's inspection facility at the Mariposa Port of Entry on Sept. 19, 2017, in Nogales, Ariz. ADOT's International Border Inspection Qualification program, led by ADOT's Border Liaison Unit, teaches commercial truck drivers what to expect during safety inspections when they enter ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ ports of entry.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
A Border Patrol truck parked near the commercial port of entry in Nogales.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
An illegal alien scales the U.S.-Mexico fence back toward Sonora after a Nogales Police Department officer, right, spotted him west of the Mariposa Port of Entry, Nov. 15, 2018, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
Kory's, a store catering to wedding, quincea–era and formal gowns, located at 15 N Morley Ave, Nogales, Ariz., sits katty corner to the Morley Gate Border Station on January 30, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
Sun shines through the U.S.-Mexico bollard fence west of the Mariposa Port of Entry, Nov. 15, 2018, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.
Children from Nogales, Sonora, climb through a hole in the international border fence to trick-or-treat in Nogales, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, on Halloween in 1987.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Border monument #166 is seen on the right as construction continues on the new 30-foot tall bollard fence that replaces old U.S./Mexico border fence two miles east of the Lukeville, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Construction continues on the new 30-foot tall bollard fence along the U.S./Mexico border two miles east of the Lukeville, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
A Mexican worker rides his horse along a road south of the U.S./Mexican border wall on his way back into Sonoyta Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
New paneling of border wall seen about three miles east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Old mesh paneling is removed in preparation for new wall to be built about three miles east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
A construction worker prepares cables to lift a piece of the 30-foot tall bollard fence along the U.S./Mexico border fence two miles east of the Lukeville, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Border Patrol Officers to the side of a worksite about three miles east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry where new border wall is being installed seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Old wall east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Raised wall east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
A work site east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Normandy fencing placed against a section of border fence west of Lukeville Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
A semi passes by Quitobaquito Springs as it drives along Highway 2 in Mexico Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
An area referred to as "flood gate" along the U.S./Mexico border near Sasabe, Ariz. is on the list of the Department of Homeland Security’s priorities for building a border wall, but no funding has been allocated yet. September 16, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
Vehicle barriers mark the U.S./Mexico border within the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Sasabe, Ariz. on September 16, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
A portion of the U.S./Mexico bollard border fence ends on the right and vehicle barriers begin within the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Sasabe, Ariz. on September 16, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Integrated Fixed Tower, left, near Sasabe, Ariz. on September 16, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.
The new 30-foot tall bollard fence that replaced old U.S./Mexico border fence can be seen on the left. It's located about miles east of the Lukeville, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
A US Border Patrol vehicle seen next to a section of new 30 foot high wall along the US/Mexico border near the commercial port of entry in San Luis Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
Old fencing is taken down along the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico, Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
A security guard stand in a construction site where a new fence will be placed on the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico, Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
Old fencing against new fencing along the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
Crews prepare ground for a new fence to be placed on the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
Vehicles in line to enter the United States from San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
New fencing along the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
A new section of fencing on the U.S. - Mexico border in California, just west of Yuma, Ariz., in 1993.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
Sand drifts through the "floating fence" that marks the border running through the dunes, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, west of San Luis, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
A sign warns of the dangers of trying to swim the All-American Canal just north of the Mexican border, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, west of San Luis, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
A long string of lights illuminate the no-man's land between the triple fencing of the Mexican border, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, San Luis, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.
The border fence comes to an abrupt end at the currently dry Colorado River, Thursday, July 26, 2018, west of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora.
Contact reporter Curt Prendergast at 573-4224 or cprendergast@tucson.com or on Twitter @CurtÃÛèÖÖ±²¥Star
Curt Prendergast
Editor
