DHS head seeks probe of $400M Fish & Sand border wall contract | Dump Trucks Charlotte NC
Columbus Ohio Dump Truck Company Brief:
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced this week that North Dakota-based Fisher Sand & Gravel Co.
- has been awarded a design-build, firm-fixed-price contract worth $400 million for construction of a border wall segment in Yuma County, Arizona. More than $268 million in funding for the project, from 2018 military defense funds, was obligated at the time of the award.
- The project, located along the southern perimeter of the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, is approximately 31 miles, according to a report from United Press International, and is scheduled for completion in December 2020. In September, the Interior Dept. transferred a total of 560 acres, including 300 acres within Cabeza Prieta, according to The National Wildlife Refuge Association.
- The Army Corps received three bids for the project. Fisher's selection won praise from at least two North Dakota lawmakers, Republican Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer.
Dump Trucks Columbus OH Insight:
“I am glad to see more progress being made to secure the southern border," Cramer said in a statement on his website, "and I am grateful to see a good North Dakota columbus oh dump truck company like Fisher Industries getting some of the work. I know they will do very well, performing high-quality columbus oh dump truck company at a good bargain, all for the security of the people of the United States.”
Fisher had early involvement with President Donald Trump's border wall plans as one of the firms selected to build prototypes on a site in San Diego in 2017. Since then, Fisher has attempted to secure other wall projects but ended up filing a complaint with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) earlier this year alleging that the Army Corps' procurement process was unfair.
According to Fisher's complaint, bidders for border wall contracts had to prove five years' worth of experience with these types of projects, but there were only two companies that could meet that requirement — SLS Ltd. and Barnard Construction Co. The lawsuit alleges that these companies ended up negotiating contracts with inflated amounts and did not provide the best value for taxpayers. As part of an injunction request in federal court, Fisher alleged that this restriction allowed SLS and Barnard to negotiate bloated contracts that did not provide the American taxpayer with the best deal.
In fact, Fisher has since offered to construct 234 miles of border infrastructure — a mix of border and levee walls — through the Rio Grande Valley of Texas for $1.4 billion. Add $2.9 billion to that figure, Fisher said, and the columbus oh dump truck company could also include paved roads, border security technology and a warranty.
The Army Corps ended up canceling a $187 million contract with Barnard as a result of Fisher's protest.
Fisher has also participated in privately funded border wall projects for the Florida-based organization We Build the Wall, which is classified by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit social welfare organization. So far the group has raised more than $25 million via a GoFundMe campaign.
Fisher constructed the first one mile to one-and-a-half-mile segment for the group in Sunland, New Mexico, out of 18-foot-high sections of steel bollard fencing during the 2019 Memorial Day holiday weekend at a cost of between $6 million and $8 million. After a brief disagreement with the United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) over a gate that the agency alleged blocked workers from servicing a nearby dam, the two reached an agreement to keep the gate locked only at night.
The group started clearing land in preparation for the second 3.5-mile section of wall last month. Despite reports to the contrary, We Build the Wall founder Brian Kolfage in a press release sent to Construction Dive said the organization will not proceed with construction until it secures approval from the USIBWC.
On Tuesday, a Hidalgo County judge approved the National Butterfly Center's request for a temporary restraining order prohibiting construction in the site's flood zone. A hearing is set for Dec. 17 as to the center's application for a temporary injunction. The center claims that construction would redirect floodwaters and damage its property.