The General Services Administration has picked Greeley, Colorado-based Hensel Phelps to build the final phase of a major modernization and expansion project at the Calexico West Land Port of Entry in Calexico, California, the agency said in a July 26 news release.
The $173.6 million project aims to increase capacity and strengthen security and efficiency at the heavily traveled, 17.8-acre Calexico West, the main border crossing linking the Imperial Valley agricultural industry to Baja California, Mexico. Hensel Phelps will provide design-build services.
Work entails building a 33,000-square-foot pedestrian processing facility, as well as construction of a temporary pedestrian processing facility and demolition of the existing pedestrian processing building and northbound vehicle inspection building. Previous phases of the Calexico West project included a new administration building and more inspection facilities, booths and vehicle lanes.
In addition to $122 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the project will use $42 million from the Inflation Reduction Act for low-embodied carbon construction materials and $1.7 million for emerging and sustainable technologies like duct sealing and highly efficient heat pumps.
The project is part of a broader GSA effort to upgrade 38 federal land ports of entry along the country’s northern and southern borders using $1 billion in IRA and IIJA funds. As part of the Biden administration’s Buy Clean Initiative, the federal government is using its massive purchasing power to promote asphalt, concrete, glass and steel that have lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions associated with their production, use and disposal.
“This project not only supports the needs of today but also lays the groundwork for future advancements in border management and environmental stewardship,” said Sukhee Kang, regional administrator for GSA’s Pacific Rim Region, in the release.
Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2025 and to be complete by winter 2028.