Border wall built with shipping containers near Yuma complete; here’s what it looks like

YUMA, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- After a set of shipping containers toppled over at the Arizona-Mexico border last week, Gov. Doug Ducey announced Wednesday that the border wall gaps are completely closed. The governor’s office says over 3,800 feet of open border near Yuma has been filled with 130 shipping containers, double-stacked and secured together.

Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls said the Morelos Dam is now covered by shipping containers. “It’s been estimated 50% of the crossings are coming here through the Yuma sector,” he explained.

Tim Roemer, the Arizona Department of Homeland Security Director, says the containers are helping with security at the border. “These shipping containers ensure whoever wants to go through the country, has to go through border patrol,” said Roemer. “We are really alarmed by ‘gotaways’ the people we know came in, we can see them entering the country on camera but we know we didnt apprehend them, the number of gotaways on the southwest is close to one million alone, this protects that.”

However, critics are concerned about costs of the project. Ducey announced the plan would cost $6 million, but Arizona’s Family revealed the contract expense was worth $13 million. Former federal border officials believe Arizona will have to foot the bill once the Biden Administration completes the existing fence, which is already financed. “We will gladly move the shipping containers so they can do so,” said Roemer.

Arizona’s Family then asked Roemer about the cost of moving the containers. “Moving the containers we don’t have an exact quote for, but if its money we think its going to be effectively spent, we don’t think the Biden administration is ever going to do it,” Roemer replied.

Last week, Univision journalist Claudia Ramos reported a set of the shipping containers toppled over a day after Ducey announced the first gap was complete. C.J. Karamargin, with the governor’s office, said they believed it wasn’t weather that caused the containers to fall — rather people knocking them over instead. Karamargin added the containers weighed over 8,000 pounds, and it was “highly unlikely” they were blown over.

Ducey’s office released a statement following the announcement. “Five wide open gaps in the border wall near Yuma neighborhoods and businesses are now closed off. In just 11 days, Arizona did the job the federal government has failed to do — and we showed them just how quickly and efficiently the border can be made more secure – if you want to.”

The containers are double-stacked, linked together and welded shut along the border wall.

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