Fisher Industries recently completed one of its more notable jobs in company history. While Memorial Day weekend typically marks the unofficial start of summer for most, Fisher crews were hard at work constructing a half-mile of fence for the nonprofit group, We Build the Wall. The location of this project was Sunland Park, New Mexico, on private property belonging to American Eagle Brick Company. This area has been previously deemed “unbuildable” by government agencies due to the harsh construction conditions.
Upon procuring materials, Fisher owned Stinger Bridge & Iron fabricated all the bollard fence panels for the project within two days. We designed the panels with ¼” weathering steel with two #8 rebar welded in the center of each bollard providing a 75+ year lifespan.
While Stinger fabricated the bollard panels, Fisher Sand & Gravel crews set to work preparing the construction site. The mass excavation of over 200,000 yards of material was required to construct the fence in the mountainside. In less than a week, we were able to transform a once impassable mountain range into a roadway accessible for all vehicles.
For the fence installment, we utilized our patented bollard hanging system. Our unique system allows us to hang five bollard fence panels concurrently: placing 40 feet of fence at one time. Another benefit of our method is the ability to install fencing in 40+ MPH winds as well as during rain showers. Such weather conditions would have delayed work efforts if we had utilized traditional crane methods.
Primarily built into the mountains, the project required the ability to install fencing on steep grades. Our installation system can maintain vertical and horizontal alignment up to 31% grade. We were also able to parallel the fence with a 25-foot wide concrete roadway which will allow border agents to have unobstructed access from each end of the project.
We rounded out the project with an extensive electrical/technology package, including the installation of fourteen 40 foot tall light poles every 150 feet, providing agencies adequate lighting to perform nightly patrols. We also installed three pan-tilt-zoom cameras and placed fiber optic cable capable of detecting tunneling and foot traffic alongside the border fence.
Our company’s vertical integration business model allowed us to have total control over all major aspects of this border wall construction project including design, steel procurement, fence fabrication, heavy-haul transportation, grading/excavation, fence installment, and all concrete work. After the raw steel leaves the mill, Fisher is 100% in control until the final project close-out.
This project had a final close-out date of June 5th. Upon completion, Fisher is now able to show that we are capable of constructing in any terrain along the border. We feel that our schedule and price are both unmatched, and we look forward to another opportunity to build along the southern border.
