He Built a Privately Funded Border Wall. It’s Already at Risk of Falling Down if Not Fixed.
https://www.propublica.org/article/he-built-a-privately-funded-border-wall-its-already-at-risk-of-falling-down-if-not-fixed
Article portions from Trump reTwat re:Private Border Wall Section. (pic related)
"Fisher has leveraged his self-described “Lamborghini” of walls to win more than $1.7 billion worth of federal contracts in Arizona.
But his showcase piece is showing signs of runoff erosion and, if it’s not fixed, could be in danger of falling into the Rio Grande, according to engineers and hydrologists who reviewed photos of the wall for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. It never should have been built so close to the river, they say."
"Fisher dismissed the concerns. A company attorney, Mark Courtois, called the erosion “a normal part of new construction projects like this and does not in any way compromise the fence or associated roadway.” The company will seek to build drainage ditches to lessen the deterioration, he added. Neither Courtois nor Fisher responded to additional questions made through Courtois’ office.
The Mission private wall project, Fisher’s second following a similar undertaking outside El Paso, is a little known but crucial part of the effort to help President Donald Trump meet his campaign promise to build 450 miles of “big, beautiful wall” by the end of 2020. For the administration, Texas remains the biggest challenge. That’s because the Rio Grande has served as a natural divider, and, unlike other states, most land abutting it is privately owned.
Fisher’s New Mexico and South Texas private fence projects have gone up with financial and political help from We Build the Wall, an influential conservative nonprofit that counts former Trump political strategist Steve Bannon as a board member. The group says it has raised $25 million toward the private wall effort and claims to have agreements with landowners on 250 miles of riverfront property in Texas."
This is a long article with back & forth between Kolfage (We Build the Wall), Fischer & Gov't . (read the whole thing)
This concerns me because:
A) Trump Supporters spent $25 million of their hard earned money supporting this endeavor.
B) The left will undoubtedly attack this as a Trump failure (if there are indeed real concerns, not just politics.
C) They determined there are problems BASED ON PHOTOS!
D) The government APPROVED this project (no way it went forward without Gov engineers' approvals)
E) They got wall built on private land, where the Govt would never have been able to do.
Perhaps POTUS should have reserved comments for now; this was NOT an effort to make him look bad.
People in this article who need digging:
Alex Mayer, a civil engineer professor at the University of Texas at El Paso
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., called for the Pentagon’s inspector general to review Fisher’s first $400 million fence contract
Victor Manjarrez, associate director for University of Texas at El Paso’s Center for Law and Human Behavior.
Rev. Roy Snipes, the parish priest at La Lomita church.
International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC)
The National Butterfly Center executive director Marianna Treviño-Wright (Kolfage tweeted that they were “promoting trafficking of children,” and that the butterfly center was home to a “rampant sex trade.”)
Javier Peña, the attorney representing the National Butterfly Center
Amy Patrick, a Houston forensic structural and civil engineer and court-recognized expert on wall construction.
U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro, D-Texas, called the privately funded wall an illegal vanity project that jeopardizes the property and safety of Texas landowners.
[They] will stop at nothing to bring down Trump & continue their trafficking of children.