More than a hundred buoys installed to prevent illegal crossings of the Rio Grande broke free when the river rose to flood stage following heavy rain across Southwest Texas. Each buoy measures about 15 feet long and 5 feet wide (their weight has not been publicly disclosed), and as floodwaters swiftly propelled them south, this set off alarm bells downstream.
Two International Bridges between Texas and Mexico were temporarily closed due to concerns that the massive buoys could damage bridge columns if they struck them. According to “The Maverick Times News” of Eagle Pass, Texas, a “Mexican news outlet reported a buoy struck a bridge support pillar, with no visible damage observed.”
Authorities further downstream in Laredo said they were prepared to close the six International Bridges there should the buoys (some of which have beached along the Rio Grande shoreline) make it that far.
Texas Public Radio reported that “Customs and Border Protection previously said the system was engineered to withstand a 100-year flood. But river experts and environmental advocates warned that sections could detach during extreme flooding and become trapped against bridges or other infrastructure.”
The Department of Homeland Security has issued more than a billion dollars in contracts to fully construct the floating border barrier system, with hundreds more buoys staged ashore along the Rio Grande, awaiting installation. There is no estimate of how much it will cost taxpayers to recover and reinstall the buoys that broke free.
Do you support the installation of this massive barrier system on the Rio Grande?
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Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
One boondoggle after another with this administration. The buoys are ugly and decimate the beauty of the Rio Grande. Mexican immigration is negative. More people are immigrating to Mexico from the U.S. than Mexicans immigrating here. This is such a waste of time and a money pit of waste. God awful all around.