COCHISE COUNTY, Ariz. (KGUN) — Deconstruction of the container wall along the US- Mexico border began in early January. Two weeks later 1.6 miles of the 4-mile stretch in Cochise County have been removed.
A contract for the deconstruction says removing the section, located in the Coronado National Forest, will cost more than $57 million and take roughly 60 days to complete. Officials from the Forest Service said the area is closed to the public due to safety concerns until March 15, however, if the project takes longer than the anticipated 60 days, the temporary closure will be extended.
Crews began the project on the west side of the wall and were moving east. The winter weather the area received over the last few weeks caused areas of the site to become too muddy to continue their path east. Last week, they moved to a middle section of the container wall and began unstacking and removing the containers.
Pickup trucks with flatbeds hitched to the back are hauling the removed containers to Tucson. According to the contract the containers are being taken to the Tucson jail, where they will stay.
RELATED TEAM COVERAGE:
- Shipping container border wall is coming down
- Containers used as a border wall are being removed, but at what cost?
- Environmentalists want access as border containers come down
——-
Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
