North Dakota Company Awarded $1.3 Billion Border Wall Contract

NOGALES, AZ — A North Dakota based company has been awarded $1.28 billion project to construct 42 miles of border wall running from Nogales to the eastern boundary of the Tohono O’odham Nation.

According to MRT, Fisher Sand and Gravel was awarded the project by the Army Corps of Engineers. Fisher Sand and Gravel is a company that is favored by President Trump.

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R) of North Dakota confirmed the deal that will create a border wall through “really tough terrain in the mountains.” The estimated cost per mile is $30 million.

According to Cramer, Fisher Sand and Gravel offered the lowest price for the project. Other news outlets reported the head of Fisher Sand and Gravel, Tommy Fisher, “led a wide-ranging campaign to persuade Trump and federal officials to award wall contracts to his company.”

The campaign included discussing his company’s wall design on multiple conservative news outlets, paying lobbyists $145,000 to discuss the border wall with lawmakers, and inviting Corps officials to see first-hand the building of a privately funded border wall.

Trump promised his administration would build 450 miles of wall along the border by the end of the year. The Trump administration claims it has already built 187 miles of wall, but the vast majority of the work done has been replacing older and shorter barriers.

Millions of dollars in contracts for the construction of 30-foot barriers have been awarded by the government. The contracts will cover the building of the wall, new lighting, technology, and infrastructure.

The Corps stated there is no set date to start the project or a date of completion. 

Cramer explained the fence will be painted black because “that’s what the president wanted, plain and simple.” According to Cramer, the choice of color stems from the idea that a black wall would absorb heat, thus making it more difficult to scale.

The $1.3 billion awarded to Fisher Sand and Gravel was part of a $5 billion project that has been set aside for the border wall project.

In 2018, Tommy Fisher and his wife donated $10,800 to the Cramer election campaign. Cramer consistently championed “the company’s ability to build the wall" and in 2019 Fisher was invited to the State of the Union as Cramer’s guest.