{UAH} Mulindwa's beautiful Privately Built Border Wall Will Fail, Engineering Report Shows

Blame extensive erosion that's only getting worse.

By Caroline Delbert 

SEP 3, 2020

JOHN MOOREGETTY IMAGES

• A trial section of the privately built "border wall" is experiencing erosion, especially after Hurricane Hanna in July.
• The steel bollard construction is the winning candidate from eight wall designs.
• Much of the erosion is from removing vegetation at the building site.
  

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ProPublica reports that a short section of the privately funded and constructed "border wall" along the shores of the Rio Grande River, which forms the U.S. border with Mexico, is not built for the long haul, according to two engineering studies that will enter into federal court this week.

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While the "We Build the Wall" organization has been in the news for financial issues and lawsuits, let's look purely at the wall itself. What does it take to build a large wall that will stand the test of time?

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The wall building began with a vetting process, where eight prototypes were built and tested before We Build the Wall ultimately decided which wall would work best. But that's where the problems began, as John Oliver recently reported on Last Week Tonight: "A government report found every mock-up was 'deemed vulnerable to at least one breaching technique,' with one having the 'potential to impact the structural integrity of the entire mock-up,'" Oliver said.

Once We Build the Wall chose the winning design, a company called Fisher Sand and Gravel installed a short section of steel bollard fence as proof of concept in Texas. The Border Patrol explains:

"A steel-bollard style wall provides significant impedance and denial capability. These are hollow steel beams that are filled with concrete and rebar. The space between the bollards satisfies a visibility requirement. 'It's important for our agents to see any adversary to the south,' said [Border Patrol sector chief Brian] Martin."

The bollard, a common structural type of fencing, is already in use around the world. In Melbourne, bollards slide in and out of place to shelter a pedestrian event from traffic. In Berlin, they protect bicycle lanes, again from traffic. If you've navigated a sidewalk or bike path with upright steel beams that prevent cars from entering, those are likely bollards as well.

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