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McALLEN — Laredo city officials unveiled designs for a proposed border wall in the city’s downtown riverfront area that has been among the areas targeted for border wall construction under the Trump administration. However, unlike a border wall that is planned or under construction, the barriers in the Laredo downtown area would not include the steel bollards that have been a staple of border wall construction. Instead, following months of negotiations, federal officials designed fencing that would be shorter, would be more aesthetically pleasing and would incorporate a green space for residents.
Renderings of the designs, which were provided by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, show three different proposed designs for a riverfront border barrier — a guardrail, a steel fence and a chain-link fence. The barrier would be positioned just a few yards from the river on one side with a public recreational space on the other. The fencing would stretch from the Texas Mexican Railway International Bridge to the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge.
