Originally posted August 4, 2026
Texas Democrats in Congress are urging the Trump administration to pause its plan for widespread border security infrastructure inside Big Bend National Park, as a federal contractor working on the project begins to move heavy machinery into the park and local activists warn construction could start at any moment.
On Tuesday, Marfa Public Radio witnessed a bulldozer and multiple trucks bearing the contractor’s name – Southwest Valley Constructors – stationed inside the park near the entrance to Cottonwood Campground, which is situated right next to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The company has been awarded $1.7 billion – one of the largest-ever federal border security contracts – to build a mix of vehicle barriers, surveillance technology and 200 miles of new “patrol roads” across the sprawling West Texas park as part of the Trump administration’s border-wide “Smart Wall” plan. The roads, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has said, could be up to 24 feet wide.
Read the full story at Marfa Public Radio.
Photo credit Mary Cantrell/Marfa Public Radio
Comments are closed