MILITARY

Cost to repair border fence knocked down by heavy rainstorm cost over $700,000

Associated Press
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FILE - In this July 27, 2014, file photo, a border patrol vehicle stands guard at a section of collapsed fence just west of the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Ariz., after severe storms in southern Arizona over the weekend knocked down a chunk of the metal border fence that divides Mexico and the U.S. The federal government spent over $700,000 to repair part of a 60 feet of rebar-reinforced fencing in Nogales, Ariz., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection documents released this month after a request by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Nogales International, Jonathan Clark, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this July 27, 2014, file photo, a section of fence lies collapsed just west of the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Ariz., after severe storms in southern Arizona over the weekend knocked down a chunk of the metal border fence that divides Mexico and the U.S. The federal government spent over $700,000 to repair part of a 60 feet of rebar-reinforced fencing in Nogales, Ariz., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection documents released this month after a request by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Nogales International, Jonathan Clark, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this July 27, 2014, file photo, Workers makes repairs to a section of the border fence near Nogales, Ariz., after suspected smugglers made a garage-sized hole in the steel barrier that divides the U.S. and Mexico. It was one of two incidents this past weekend that left parts of the fence down after floods from rainstorms knocked down a 60-feet stretch of fence. The federal government spent over $700,000 to repair part of a 60 feet of rebar-reinforced fencing in Nogales, Ariz., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection documents released this month after a request by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Nogales International, Curt Prendergast, File) (The Associated Press)

The federal government spent over $700,000 to repair part of a steel border fence that was knocked down by debris from a rainstorm last summer.

Repairs on the 60 feet of rebar-reinforced fencing in Nogales, Arizona, were completed in December.

Agents discovered the downed fence in July after heavy rain in Nogales, Mexico, caused debris to build up against the fence, toppling it. The fence stood between 18 and 26 feet high and extended at least 7 feet underground. The fence was built in 2011.

The cost to clean up and repair the fence was $730,000. Crews had to wait several weeks to begin repairs because the soil was wet from ongoing rains, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.