Technical and management troubles have caused the government’s effort to secure a portion of the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border with a chain of surveillance towers to fall behind schedule, The Washington Post reported for its Wednesday editions.
A $20 million pilot program to safeguard a 28-mile stretch of rough, mesquite-dotted terrain that straddles a smuggling corridor south of Tucson, Ariz., was supposed to be operational in June but now is expected to be delayed until the end of the year, the newspaper said, citing officials at the Department of Homeland Security.
The government has grown so worried that it is withholding nearly $5 million in payments to Boeing Co., which was selected as the main contractor a year ago.
Boeing reshuffled its management team in August. A Boeing spokesman referred questions to Homeland Security but said a new project director has “invaluable” experience.
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Items compiled from Tribune news services.
