Part of President Trump’s “Build The Wall” campaign promise has started

with the replacement phase of existing walls in California. While Congress drags on providing funding for additional miles, better wall technology is being implemented. Cost of replacement is around $18 Million.

Here’s more via Associated Press:

The federal government began work Wednesday on replacing border wall in California, the first wall contract awarded in the Trump administration outside of eight prototypes that were built last year in San Diego.Customs and Border Protection is replacing a little more than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) in downtown Calexico, a sliver of the president’s plan for a “big, beautiful wall” with Mexico.

A barrier built in the 1990s from recycled metal scraps and landing mat will be torn down for bollard-style barriers that are 30 feet (9.1 meters) high, significantly taller than existing walls.In November, SWF Constructors of Omaha, Nebraska, won a contract for $18 million to replace wall in Calexico, about 120 miles (192 kilometers) east of San Diego. It encompasses an area bisected by the New River, where smugglers are known to guide people through polluted waters.

The project, which includes a bridge over the river, is expected to take 300 days.The administration cleared the way for construction in September by waiving dozens of environmental and other reviews in Calexico. A 2005 law exempted it from environmental reviews if the Homeland Security secretary deems a wall to be in national security interests, including the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Air Act and Endangered Species Act.

Customs and Border Protection is replacing a little more than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) in downtown Calexico, a sliver of the president’s plan for a “big, beautiful wall” with Mexico. A barrier built in the 1990s from recycled metal scraps and landing mat will be torn down for bollard-style barriers that are 30 feet (9.1 meters) high, significantly taller than existing walls.In November, SWF Constructors of Omaha, Nebraska, won a contract for $18 million to replace wall in Calexico, about 120 miles (192 kilometers) east of San Diego. It encompasses an area bisected by the New River, where smugglers are known to guide people through polluted waters.

The project, which includes a bridge over the river, is expected to take 300 days.The administration cleared the way for construction in September by waiving dozens of environmental and other reviews in Calexico. A 2005 law exempted it from environmental reviews if the Homeland Security secretary deems a wall to be in national security interests, including the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Air Act and Endangered Species Act.