r/AEC_Industry

The towering cliffs, jagged mountain tops, and punishing desert climate of the Big Bend region in Texas have long proved to be the best barrier the United States could have with Mexico. For generations, the idea of needing to build physical structures to stop illegal migration was considered “insane,” as one former superintendent of Big Bend U.S. National Park said.

But now the expansive reach of U.S. President Donald Trump’s southern border plan has stretched into this remote region that sees only about one per cent of unauthorized crossing apprehensions. Bulldozers are clearing land in the beloved national park, where wildlife roams and the scenery has been untouched for thousands of years*.*

Construction workers walk near a bulldozer near the border in Big Bend National Park in Texas on August 7, 2026. (Credit: Natalie Newman via CNN Newsource)

“We didn’t have to worry about any type of barrier. We had a God-made barrier,” said Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland of Terrell County, a vast and sparsely populated area northeast of the park. He spent 26 years in the U.S. Border Patrol, hearing little if any talk of needing extra infrastructure in the area where he grew up, he said. “But that’s definitely changed.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says it’s not planning to build the same kind of 30-foot-high barrier that has appeared across parts of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas inside the national park. But critics say the plan that is in the works is no less destructive.

Earlier this month, bulldozers were videoed uprooting trees and shoveling dirt as wild animals trotted by. They were doing preliminary work ahead of the budgeted US$1.72 billion main construction project designated for the area inside Big Bend National Park, the agency said.

It’s part of the bigger plan to finish the border wall — or some form of it — before Trump leaves office, with steel walls and vehicle barriers and hundreds of miles of new roads cutting through wildly remote areas.

Those with concerns or outright opposition to the work in this remote desert wilderness run the gamut from a few elected Republicans to young activists, sweeping in a pro-border control sheriff and a retired National Park Service superintendent.

Photographer Natalie Newman made a commitment to Big Bend back in February when then-U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem waived certain federal laws related to environmental safety, historic preservation and wildlife protection, among other initiatives, saying there was “an acute and immediate need to construct additional physical barriers and roads” in the Big Bend region.

Signs in Sanderson, Texas reflect local pushback against the Trump administration’s plan to construct miles and miles of vehicle barriers along the border in Terrell County. (Credit: Ashley Killough/CNN via CNN Newsource)

“It started out as just documenting the beauty of it, trying to get people to see why it’s special and what makes it special and what makes it so beautiful and worth protecting. But that has transformed just over the last week,” she told CNN, standing near Santa Elena Canyon, where tall cliffs rise nearly 1,500 feet high from the Rio Grande and where she first saw bulldozers working in the national park.

“More than anything else, I feel heartbreak over all of this,” she said. Newman enjoys the wilder parts of this park that’s larger than the state of Rhode Island, where you may see fewer people than javelinas — a mammal that looks like a small wild pig, though it’s an entirely different species. Cacti and wildflowers bloom across the state and federal land around Big Bend, which coupled with even larger nature preserves across the border are part of the Chihuahuan desert, the largest such ecosystem in North America.

But these days when her binoculars are trained on something in the distance, she’s more likely to be checking on the progress of road clearing than on any of the hundreds of bird species that frequent the park. She said she will keep sharing that news, doing her part to stand up for the national park.

“I’m hopeful every single day that it’ll be the day that someone somewhere does something that puts a stop to it,” she said.

Natalie Newman spends her days documenting and filming the work that federal contractors are doing in the park to clear land. (Credit: Ashley Killough/CNN via CNN Newsource)

If there is no stopping, retired park superintendent Bob Krumenaker said what could happen in Big Bend would rival the flooding of Hetch Hetchy Valley a century ago, an event that changed arguments about preserving the environment. It’s why he labels the whole plan “insane.”

“If they continue with this and build most of the things they have talked about, or even a good fraction of those, this will be the biggest desecration of the national park system — not just Big Bend National Park — since they built a dam in a pristine valley in Yosemite National Park more than 100 years ago. This is a story that our children and grandchildren will be telling,” he told CNN.

Compounding the natural destruction is the damage being done to people’s trust, Krumenaker added.

“It’s just a tremendous erosion, if not violation, of the agreement that Texans and the American people made when they established that national park. The federal government that I worked for for 41 years is disrespecting its citizens in a in a huge way.”

Bob Krumenaker, former superintendent of Big Bend National Park, now leads the group Keep Big Bend Wild. "We are destroying the faith of the American people in their government to protect the most important lands in this country,” he said. (Credit: Ashley Killough/CNN via CNN Newsource)

Krumenaker, now chairman of the Keep Big Bend Wild advocacy group, spent five years as superintendent of Big Bend National Park and is familiar not only with the multiple studies and approvals needed for any material changes, but also with his federal partners in the U.S. Border Patrol and the need for security.

“I totally support a secure border in Big Bend, but this is the least active place in the country for illegal border crossings,” he said. “This is purely political, and it will, it risks destroying one of the nation’s greatest places. It’s just horrible.”

He recalled as superintendent having an annual budget of between UD$8 million and US$9 million and a maintenance to-do list of about US$100 million they would chip away at when they could. Those numbers are dwarfed by the US$1.72 billion earmarked for the Big Bend work, part of the larger US$46.5 billion allocated for border wall construction in Trump’s signature legislation, the “Big Beautiful Bill.”

Sheriff Cleveland thought the talk of security construction was “BS” when he first heard of it.

Republican Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland of Terrell County opposes the Trump administration’s plans for the broader Big Bend region, saying the area needs more technology, not physical barriers. (Credit: Ashley Killough/CNN via CNN Newsource)

His experience in local and national law enforcement tells him a different story than that framed by CBP that Big Bend is “an area of high illegal entry.”

What he calls the “God-given barriers” of steep mountains and valleys around the river and an undeveloped landscape without roads would prevent any vehicle getting to his patch. Yet new vehicle barriers are being planned for Terrell County, part of the total US$7 billion scheme for the Big Bend sector of the border that includes the national park and land either side.

“I believe in border security … but let’s put a barrier where a barrier makes sense,” he told CNN. “Let’s spend money where we need to spend the money.”

An art installation near Marathon, Texas, reflects local opposition to the Trump administration’s plan to construct hundreds of miles of physical barriers in the broader Big Bend region. (Credit: Ashley Killough/CNN via CNN Newsource)

Cleveland thinks using technology would be better support for him and other rural areas. He points to a solar-powered radar tower with a relatively small footprint that can scan the landscape and identify humans by their gait, triggering cameras to lock on and feed information to agents. Another option would be drones tracking people and helping responders plan a safe interception amid the rugged terrain, he said.

“The biggest problem is the people making the decisions out here for the Big Bend sector have never stepped foot out here.”

Cleveland ran for sheriff as a Republican but says he may switch to independent — what he sees as the profligate federal spending on something unnecessary does not mesh with his own fiscal conservatism.

Wild horses roam through campsites near the Rio Grande Village in Big Bend National Park in June 2025. (Credit: Kaylee Greenlee/Reuters via CNN Newsource)

He signed a letter being carried around the area by former land commissioner Jerry Patterson, praising Trump for closing the border and asking the administration to consider cheaper and less destructive options for the Big Bend region.

A similar approach is being taken by others in Texas.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn wrote to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin last week urging him to meet with local stakeholders before any more construction proceeds on state or federal property. Some of Mullin’s involvement so far has been to waive another federal law, effectively ending a lawsuit claiming that law was being violated. Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham was more forthright, sending a cease-and-desist letter warning of possible legal action to CBP after she said a federal contractor was sent to work in the Big Bend Ranch State Park without permission. The accompanying news release was titled “Don’t Tread on Texas.”

Protesters gather Wednesday near where the first bulldozer was seen inside Big Bend National Park, vowing to keep fighting against construction. (Credit: Ashley Killough/CNN via CNN Newsource)

Gov. Greg Abbott remarked before Trump entered the White House for the first time that he did not want a border wall across the entirety of his state. “There are serpentine regions of the Rio Grande where it would be extremely challenging to build a wall. There are parts like the Big Bend region — we don’t want (to) see a wall in the beautiful Big Bend National Park,” Abbott said in December 2016, as reported by The Associated Press. CNN asked for his current views and was directed to a previous statement from Abbott’s press secretary Andrew Mahaleris: “Rugged, isolated areas like Big Bend are great opportunities to deploy technology to aid in securing the border.”

Critics say most statewide elected Republican officials have been too quiet in their condemnation of the border barrier construction projects because they fear the wrath of Trump’s criticism on his signature issue of border security.

“The one person who is supposed to stand for Texas right now, our governor, is silent,” resident Jess Bartko said. “What they are doing is actively waging a war against our parks, our public lands, our community and our livelihoods.”

A group of local residents tearfully watch bulldozers go to work deep in the brush near the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park. (Credit: Ashley Killough/CNN via CNN Newsource)

On Wednesday, Bartko and about 100 other protesters gathered by the river, whose route gives the area its name and which attracts many of the half-million or so annual visitors to the national park.

Tourism is a big deal here — for running the river and watching the night sky. There are worries that both will be impacted. As far as the upheaval, there could be debris in the river, and construction lights from sites and worker camps could pollute some of the darkest sky in the Lower 48, blurring the star-filled views of the cosmos.

This week some roads and facilities were closed in the national park because of the construction.

A river guide pulls a canoe through the Santa Elena Canyon in April 2026. Tourism is an important business for the area. (Credit: John Moore/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Down at the river, beside the entrance to Santa Elena Canyon, one of the “crown jewels” of the park, the demonstrators whooped and hollered, their shouts echoing off the cliff walls as they pledged to keep working to protect Big Bend.

“The land remembers, the water remembers, it will remember us and our fight,” Joan Escamilla told her fellow supporters of the national park. “You can bury my heart in the Rio Grande.”

The Trump administration has responded to controversy over construction and expansion projects at the White House by saying the work was “long-overdue and necessary” and “inextricably tied to the security of the President, the White House grounds and the certain security infrastructure assets”.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has long insisted construction is being funded by private donors and is necessary for security reasons. But on Wednesday, The Washington Post cited documents it obtained that showed the administration was planning to spend nearly $1bn on the construction work, which includes a large new ballroom to replace much of the White House’s East Wing.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle, in a statement to Al Jazeera, cited recent security incidents, including attempted attacks on the president and events around the 250th anniversary of US independence, as reasons for the work.

Ingle said the work was being done in coordination with the Secret Service and White House Military Office. He also said approximately $400m in funding for the new ballroom was coming from “President Trump and generous American patriots”.

About $875m has been put into the White House Repair and Restoration account, which typically has only several million dollars and is used for routine maintenance and upkeep. Some $500m of that money came from the Secret Service and the White House Military Office, tasked with securing the president and his family, as well as top US officials. Another $305m, according to The Post, came from private donations, while the provenance of another $70m was not indicated.

The White House reconstruction project has faced scrutiny from lawmakers, as well as courts, over concerns that vested interests, including private businesses seeking government contracts, are paying for the work in exchange for government favours. A federal judge in Washington, DC, last week ordered a halt to work specifically for the ballroom, saying it needed Congressional approval under existing law. In June, the advocacy group Public Citizen said it found corporate donors to the project had received more than $50bn in government contracts during the previous six months.

The Trump administration has asked ⁠the ⁠US supreme court to allow construction of the president’s controversial $400m ⁠White House ballroom to proceed after ​an ‌appeals ‌court ordered work to halt.

In a case testing Donald Trump’s presidential authority, the Washington-based US ⁠court of ​appeals for the District of Columbia circuit ruled last week that the controversial ‌project lacked the necessary approval from US Congress.

The US president, who demolished the historic East Wing of the White House last year to make way for the planned ballroom, has repeatedly touted it as “a gift” to the US people. He and his aides have repeatedly cited national security as a benefit of its construction, too.

In a filing, Trump’s administration ‌asked the supreme court justices to keep the ​decision by the US court of appeals for ⁠the District of Columbia ​circuit ​on hold ​while it ​prepares ‌a full ​appeal.

“This case involves an extraordinary and unlawful injunction that will halt the ongoing construction of the integrated military complex including a totally secure ballroom space, at the East Wing of the White House, which is vitally required by national security,” D John Sauer, the solicitor general, wrote in the filing.

Chief Justice John Roberts set a deadline of Tuesday for the plaintiffs challenging the project to respond.

The appeals court upheld a lower court’s order blocking aboveground work on the ballroom until Congress grants its approval, but allowed construction on the underground security structure to continue. It also paused its own ruling for two weeks, until 21 August, to give the administration time to lodge its appeal to the supreme court.

The government argues that “every part” of the project is “an integrated whole geared toward remedying security deficiencies and bringing critical improvements to the White House”.

“The entire ballroom structure is designed to shield the military installation beneath it,” Sauer added.

Trump’s administration has appealed a number of lower court decisions to the supreme court this week, in the wake of temporary injunctions over the president’s attempts to curb mail-in voting.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued to block the ballroom’s construction, said on Friday: “The administration brazenly asserted to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals that even if Ballroom construction were unlawful, not even the supreme court had authority to stop it.

“The administration’s transparent efforts to evade the rule of law, frustrate judicial review, and limit the availability of meaningful relief in the courts must stop here. The supreme court should deny the administration’s demand that it be allowed to continue ballroom construction while it appeals.”

Federal safety officials are coming down hard on Revoli Construction after a deadly trench collapse on a Yarmouth sewer project, proposing nearly $4.7 million in penalties for what they say were willful and repeated safety failures tied to the November death of 61-year-old worker Miguel Reis. The collapse happened on Nov. 18, 2025, along South Shore Drive during sewer-line work, when a section of trench gave way near Parker’s River Beach. One worker was killed and at least one more was seriously injured. Revoli now faces dozens of citations and will have a chance to push back on the findings in the coming weeks, as per the U.S. Department of Labor.

Investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration say the collapse stemmed from inadequate cave-in protection and a string of other preventable safety failures. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the agency issued seven willful, 33 repeat and 17 serious citations, adding up to $4,699,362 in proposed penalties.

Among the violations cited by federal officials were spoil piles placed too close to the trench, unsupported underground utilities, use of damaged protective systems and failure to install shoring in line with the design. Revoli has 15 business days to either comply, request an informal conference or formally contest the citations before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

The collapse and the victim

Investigators determined that workers were removing sandy backfill and setting steel plates outside the excavation when the trench walls suddenly caved in, burying two men. One of them, identified by The Boston Globe as 61-year-old Miguel Reis of Fall River, later died from his injuries.

Reis was an immigrant from the Azores who left behind a wife and two adult children. The Globe and other local reports noted that the collapse took place near Parker’s River Beach at 125 South Shore Drive, on a stretch of the sewer project that had already drawn attention before the fatal incident.

Town response and project status

In the aftermath of Reis’s death, Yarmouth officials moved to tighten oversight on the work. In January, the town’s select board voted to require a full-time qualified safety professional on site for any remaining trench operations, with explicit authority to shut down work that appears unsafe.

In a public statement, the Town of Yarmouth said the new measure was driven by safety concerns on the sewer project, which town records show was awarded at roughly $18 million and still has about 150 feet of deep trenching left to complete. Town officials added that the incident remains under investigation by the Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office, working alongside OSHA and state police.

Penalties, next steps and legal outlook

OSHA officials did not mince words about what they say went wrong in Yarmouth. The collapse is “a solemn reminder of the dangers construction workers face when basic safety procedures and safe engineering solutions are ignored,” Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement.

The U.S. Department of Labor said the steep penalties are intended to push for corrective action and more robust training at Revoli. The company, however, is entitled to contest the citations. If it does, the case could land before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission for an independent review of OSHA’s findings and proposed fines.

Context: trench safety and enforcement

Trench cave-ins rank among the deadliest hazards in construction, with seconds often making the difference between a close call and a fatality. Federal regulators have ramped up trenching and excavation enforcement in recent years, and industry outlets have framed the Revoli penalties as part of that broader crackdown, stressing the need for proper shoring, shielding and spoil-pile placement at every dig.

Local labor and safety advocates have argued that what happened in Yarmouth shows how fast excavation mistakes can turn catastrophic on public works sites. They have urged stronger oversight, more training and a tougher stance on repeat offenders in high-risk work such as deep sewer trenching.

Revoli did not immediately respond to requests for comment, as reported by The Boston Globe. Town and federal agencies say their investigations will continue as the company weighs whether to fight the citations or start cutting checks and changing practices.

As drones circle the 1,396-foot tower and repair work begins at 432 Park Avenue, the 94th floor skypad at the beleaguered building has sold for $22 million, Gimme Shelter has learned — a stunning comedown from its original $33 million ask two years ago, and a $3.75 million gut-punch from the $25.75 million price it went into contract at earlier this month.

The seller is a trust linked to the late teen science prodigy turned philanthropist Roy T. Eddleman, founder of Spectrum Labs, which paid $31.5 million for the half-floor spread in 2019. Eddleman died in 2022 at age 82.

“The $22 million closing is lower than anyone wanted, but a half floor in the building hasn’t sold since 2024. This is the new market reality,” listing broker Marc Riedel of Serhant told The Post, who shares the listing with Serhant’s Jordyn Nusynowitz.

A 94th floor skypad at 432 Park Avenue has sold for $22 million — a steep drop from its original $33 million asking price and $3.75 million below the price it went into contract at just weeks earlier.

A 94th floor skypad at 432 Park Avenue has sold for $22 million — a steep drop from its original $33 million asking price and $3.75 million below the price it went into contract at just weeks earlier.

Beyond that preserved core, the project includes a major 12,000-square-foot buildout with subterranean framing, a retractable stargazing roof, additional bedrooms, a screening room, spa, and a “pajama room,” while her sapphire pool, koi pond, and rose gardens remain intact outside, Image 3 shows Her master bedroom, bath, and beauty center are being preserved largely as she left them,, Image 4 shows Tavangarian bought the property for $15 million in 2021 and expects to invest at least $47 million more, with completion expected next year and no buyer yet lined up, in what may be his final project as an uber-luxury developer before he shifts focus to hotels and fire-resistant rebuilding in LA

Elizabeth Taylor’s home saved from demolition — bedroom will be preserved as she left it in $47M restoration

An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Manhattan rents have hit a record $6,655 average a month, up 10% year-over-year, as brokers blame Mayor Mamdani’s incoming rent freeze on stabilized units, a new pied-a-terre tax, and a historic housing crunch for driving prices to breaking points, Image 2 shows The median rent sits at $5,295, and studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms have all reached all-time highs, with two- and three-bedrooms posting double-digit annual gains, Image 3 shows The city’s rental vacancy rate has cratered to 1.49%, the tightest since 1968, leaving almost no breathing room for renters

Manhattan rents reach a shocking all-time high amid Mamdani’s rent freeze and pied-a-terre tax threat

An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Utica has become one of the cheapest places to buy a home in New York, with median values ranging from roughly $87,000 to $157,000 depending on neighborhood (average around $213,000 per Zillow), Image 2 shows A five-bedroom, one-bathroom single-family home at 707 Spring St. W is currently listed for $89,900. , Image 3 shows Two-story house with tan siding, a brown roof, and a front porch, with a white truck parked in the driveway

Most affordable city in NY has homes for $87K — but no one wants to live there

“You write it off, move on and make more money,” the broker said. “There are lots of bad deals. At least here you get the joy of living in the building.”

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez once counted among the glamorous residents at 432 Park.

While sale prices at 432 Park keep sliding, rents are doing the opposite — a split brokers describe as the building’s Jekyll-and-Hyde reality. A certain buyer no longer wants in, but a certain renter still wants the address, repairs and all.

The seller, a trust linked to the late Spectrum Labs founder Roy T. Eddleman, took a major loss on the sale, though brokers say wealthy owners can easily absorb such hits.

While sale prices at the building continue to slide, rents are surging in the opposite direction, with several units fetching $85,000 to over $90,000 a month

The same 94th floor unit had a signed lease with a renter willing to pay $85,000 a month — a building record for a half-floor unit — before a buyer swooped in and signed a purchase contract first, bumping the renter out.

That set off a chain reaction. Unit 66A, also asking $85,000 a month, ultimately rented for over $90,000. Another unit, 72A, then rented for $85,000. Both 66A and 94A are 4,000-square-foot, half-floor layouts with three bedrooms, three and a half baths and a library.

“I knew I could get $85,000 for 94A, but I didn’t foresee others following in the building,” Riedel said. “It tested the new reality of rising rents throughout the city.”

Two of the three units sold this year went to buyers who already owned elsewhere in the building, sources said.

Hallways lend themselves to art , concealed facade cracking, and life-safety issues from developers CIM Group and Macklowe Properties.displays.

The building faces concealed facade cracking, and life-safety issues from developers CIM Group and Macklowe Properties.

The building faces two lawsuits alleging over 1,500 construction defects.

“It’s one of the most hated buildings in New York, but people love it. It’s comical,” one broker said, noting some renters are drawn by friends already living there — including the pull of dinner together at the building’s private restaurant, run by Michelin-starred Australian chef Shaun Hergatt.

The sale closed as the building’s troubles continue to mount.

On Aug. 4, the building filed a work permit application with the city’s Department of Buildings.

The building’s condo board declined to comment. Building manager Len Czarnecki also declined, telling Gimme Shelter: “We are in active litigation and will refrain from comment.”

Built in 2015 and designed by the late architect Rafael Viñoly, the tower has been dogged by design complaints since it opened. Viñoly once told Gimme Shelter the building “has a couple of screw-ups,” including oversized window frames and a layout that put prime front-facing views in the bathrooms rather than living spaces.

The bigger issue emerged last year, when a report warned that concrete cracks could send chunks raining down and potentially render the building uninhabitable without a $160 million renovation — one owners hope the courts will force the developer to pay for.

Residents have also complained of swaying, groaning, leaks, power outages, elevator problems and the sound of trash hurtling down the chutes at alarming speeds.

The condo board sued CIM Group, Macklowe Properties and the sponsor entity in 2021, citing more than 1,500 construction and design defects, some of which the board’s engineering consultant flagged as life-safety issues.

A second suit filed in 2025 alleges CIM and Macklowe knew about facade cracking during construction and concealed it from buyers and city inspectors; CIM has denied the allegations and is seeking dismissal. The cracking has allegedly caused flooding and corrosion, and elevators have reportedly gotten stuck during high winds.

The drones circling above are surveying the tower ahead of the $160 million repair effort, as the building’s DOB work permit application moves forward.

“I would never buy in that building,” said one insider familiar with the litigation. “It was built so thin and so tall that it relies on advanced mechanical measures to stop it from swaying in the wind — that’s what caused a lot of the damage.”

The contractor behind the Big Bend border wall project in Texas is a Montana heavy-civil construction firm headed by a major donor to President Donald Trump.

Barnard Construction Company has been awarded billions of dollars in federal border barrier contracts, including nearly $2 billion linked directly to the Big Bend region in West Texas.

Newsweek contacted Barnard Construction, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Texas General Land Office for comment.

Who is Tim Barnard?

Tim Barnard is a Montana entrepreneur and construction executive who founded Barnard Construction Co. in 1975. The company, based in Bozeman, has grown from a small contractor into a major heavy-civil construction firm working on projects across North America, according to the company’s website.

Barnard was born in New Jersey and began working in his family’s construction business at age 15. He attended Villanova University, participated in Gonzaga University’s Gonzaga-in-Florence program and studied at Sophia University in Tokyo, according to a biography published by Montana State University’s Alumni Foundation.

Barnard moved to Montana in 1975 to start his own construction company. Barnard Construction’s company history says he arrived with $1,000, two shovels, a pick, and his belongings in a pickup truck. His grandmother lent him $3,500, which helped him obtain bonding for his first project, a $17,000 Forest Service sewer job, the company says.

The company eventually expanded into specialized heavy-civil work, including dams, reservoirs, hydroelectric facilities, tunnels, pipelines, water and sewer infrastructure, power transmission and environmental construction.

Federal border barrier construction has expanded to become a major portion of the firm's business in recent years.

Tim Barnard's Donations to Donald Trump

Company chairman Tim Barnard and his wife donated $1 million to a Trump campaign joint fundraising committee in 2024 and to a Trump political action committee, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records reviewed by Newsweek.

Executive leadership and affiliated entities at Barnard Construction have contributed more than $1 million to political committees backing Trump and conservative campaigns, according to campaign finance databases and the Center for Western Priorities.

Barnard Construction Receives Billions in Contracts

Barnard Construction and its affiliates have received more than $5.6 billion in border construction contracts during Trump's second term, according to federal spending data compiled on USAspending.gov and reported by High Country News.

DHS awarded a $960,423,540 delivery order to Barnard Construction Company, Inc. for the "BBT-3 Border Barrier Construction Project," according to USAspending.gov records. The March 5, 2026 contract covers construction in Terlingua, Texas, spanning the Rio Grande from the Hudspeth-Jeff Davis County line to Ruidosa in Presidio County, according to The Big Bend Sentinel.

On the same day, Barnard secured additional border barrier contracts, including roughly $1 billion in Hudspeth County and $600 million near Del Rio, according to procurement logs.

A spokesperson for CBP told Newsweek, "CBP has awarded two contracts in the U.S. Border Patrol’s Big Bend Sector to Barnard Construction Company, Inc. for the Big Bend 1 and the Big Bend 3 Wall Projects. The Big Bend 1 Wall Project was awarded for approximately $1.1B to construct approximately 47 miles of primary border wall system. This project is located in Hudspeth County in Texas and also includes the installation of detection technology.

The Big Bend 3 Wall Project was awarded for approximately $940M to construct approximately 56 miles of primary border wall system. This project is located in Presidio County in Texas and also includes the installation of detection technology. These projects were competitively bid through CBP’s Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) multi-award vehicle. Contract awards are based on the contractor’s qualifications to perform the work in a timely manner and at prices deemed fair and reasonable."

CBP said that it does not plan to build a 30-foot-high barrier in Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, or the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area. Where barriers are planned near Big Bend Ranch State Park, CBP will coordinate with park officials to maintain recreational access and use existing roads where possible for border patrol access.

Controversy Over Big Bend contracts

A competitor, Posillico Civil, sued the federal government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on May 13, 2026, alleging CBP promised roughly 73 percent of the value of new Texas and New Mexico wall contracts to Barnard Construction and Fisher Sand & Gravel, according to court documents. Posillico Civil Inc. has dropped its lawsuit accusing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of unfairly funneling a majority of work under a $37 billion border infrastructure contract to Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. and Barnard Construction.

On July 31, the Texas General Land Office sent cease-and-desist letters to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Barnard Construction Co., alleging that the contractor had illegally cleared more than a mile of state-owned land in southern Presidio County without the agency’s authorization.

"Texas sovereignty will not be infringed upon by failure to follow established protocol," Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said in a press release. "My office has a proven track record of strong border enforcement, and I applaud efforts to protect our border. I am committed to maintaining a positive relationship with CBP, but we will not allow rogue actors who breached our agreement to undermine the incredible work we do for Texas."

A CBP spokesperson said: "CBP was made aware that one of its border wall construction contractors trespassed on land managed by the Texas General Land Office (TX GLO). The construction contractor is responsible for verifying where they have legal access to property. CBP values its partnership with the TX GLO, and we are working to resolve this issue with the Contractor and the TX GLO to ensure this does not happen in the future."

Big Bend Construction Work Sparks Backlash

A bipartisan coalition of local politicians, environmental groups, former National Park Service leaders, and regional tourism businesses oppose the project, arguing that the infrastructure could damage desert ecosystems and permanently alter the character of a park that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.

Local residents, conservation advocates, and municipal officials say that heavy machinery and physical barriers risk causing severe ecological disruption, hurting the ecotourism economy, and exacerbating cross-border flooding along the Rio Grande flood plain, according to statements from regional groups and lawsuits filed by local municipalities.

In March, five county sheriffs representing the Big Bend region issued a joint statement urging the federal government to halt construction. The law enforcement officials cited concerns over permanent environmental degradation, arguing that the area's rugged terrain acts as a natural barrier and that physical wall construction is ill-suited for the region.

A preservation group suing Donald Trump’s administration over renovations to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool says the government is working to “destroy the very evidence” that proves recent construction caused damage to the landmark.

The Cultural Heritage Foundation has asked a federal judge for permission to “assess the current state of the Reflecting Pool and the reasons for its problems” after officials admitted in court filings that the recently installed pool lining was “cut with a sharp knife or razor.”

But the government has undertaken efforts to “destroy some of the very evidence that could shed light on the veracity of Defendants’ claims” by closing off and renovating the Washington D.C., landmark, again, to fix the damage, lawyers wrote Tuesday.

The request follows a stunning admission from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro that the Trump administration had no evidence to prosecute a former Olympian who was accused of vandalizing the monument, which was most likely damaged by a “rushed and botched installation” by contractors.

All the foundation is asking for is a chance to see the damage for themselves “before it is lost forever,” lawyers said.

Last week, Pirro’s office filed a motion to drop charges against 67-year-old former Olympian David Hearn, who was accused of damaging a recently applied blue lining that broke from the bottom of the pool and flapped to the surface.

But evidence from the Department of Interior appeared to show that the blue sealant started to peel “almost immediately” after the work was completed, according to Pirro’s office.

It was not until after the indictment was filed against Hearn that the Department of Interior determined that the “damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism,” the filing states.

The Trump administration “slowly started trickling information” to her office after investigators tried to reach out “dozens and dozens of times,” according to Pirro’s motion.

Had the Interior Department “been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment,” Pirro’s office wrote.

The administration’s documents “reveal that work on installing the lining almost immediately fell behind, due to a combination of very rainy and windy weather, repeated failures of testing on the sealing of the expansion joints, and delays in obtaining sealing product at the work site,” according to the filing.

“The rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing removed,” Pirro added.

In court filings in the lawsuit, a top official at the National Park Service admitted that damage to the pool’s lining was investigated on June 10 — several days before Hearn was arrested for allegedly damaging the pool.

According to Frank Lands, deputy director of operations for the park service, a police report indicates that damage to the pool included “caulk over the foam sealant that was cut with a sharp knife or razor and destruction of delaminating surface material.

About 70 fence post tops also were thrown into the pool, he wrote.

His statement did not indicate whether the damage was being investigated for vandalism or identify anyone who might have been involved.

Trump, meanwhile, continues to baselessly insist that vandals used box cutters to damage the lining while publicly slamming Pirro, who he called into the White House after accusing her of “choking” on the case. Pirro was seen lugging what appeared to be evidence boxes into the Oval Office on Monday evening.

“I was disappointed in Jeanine Pirro. Really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro,” Trump told reporters before the meeting. “She folded like an umbrella.”The president said she “choked” and blamed the judge overseeing the case, who has barely interacted with any of the arguments or filings so far.

“I think she choked, because the judge was really vicious,” he said. “Instead of going after the people who did it, he went after her, and went after her department, and I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened.”

In an interview with Fox News that aired Tuesday, Trump said Pirro’s decision to drop the case against Hearn “was totally wrong.”

The company that was paid nearly $15 million in no-bid government contracts to work on the Reflecting Pool “did a beautiful job,” he said.

“There were a couple of little things, but that was not a big deal,” he added. “And everybody saw the vandalism. All you have to do is look at the tape. If you look at the tape, plus we have a witness or two witnesses that saw the vandalism. So certainly, when there was vandalism, it was actually, in my opinion, it was major vandalism. And I told her I was not happy.”

It is unclear what “tape” contains evidence of the vandalism allegations, and witness testimony “established that the pool had substantial preexisting damage requiring repair before any alleged conduct by Mr. Hearn,” according to his legal team.

Elon Musk’s Boring Company reportedly raising funding at a $20B valuation

Elon Musk’s tunneling startup The Boring Company is in talks to raise a $4 billion funding round at a valuation of $20 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The deal hasn’t closed and the terms could change, the WSJ says. At $20 billion, the valuation would be a significant increase from The Boring Company’s $5.7 billion valuation in 2022.

The startup already has a transportation system running in Las Vegas, combining tunnels and surface routes, with Teslas shuttling customers to different stations. But tunnel workers have suffered serious injuries, and Nevada regulators said last year that The Boring Company violated environmental regulations nearly 800 times.

The Boring Company has announced plans to build tunnel networks under Nashville and Dubai. The WSJ says the startup has also pitched projects in Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

The startup spun out of SpaceX in 2018. SpaceX recently had the largest IPO ever, but its stock price has taken a significant dip since then.

Every Tuesday, we vent about the absurd, frustrating, or downright diabolical things we deal with in AEC.

Share your the moments that make you pull your hair out. Maybe it's:

• The boss who said yes to scope creep and now you're stuck on a Friday night making amendments to a design.
• The client who forgot to pay you and now you're having to chase them down.
• The colleague who starts a Teams DM with "Hey James" and then takes 2 minutes to type the rest while you're sweating in anxiety.

What's driving you mad this week?