Border Patrol checkpoint to get canopy, lane

Border Patrol checkpoint 

When finished in mid-January, the new facility will have a 65-foot-long canopy covering two inspection lanes - a substantial improvement over the one lane, uncovered facility that has been in place for years, said Border Patrol spokesman Steven Passement.
Border Patrol's checkpoint north of Sierra Vista on Arizona 90 is being upgraded in a $870,000 project that will make it the second semi-permanent checkpoint in the state.
The facility will be the second "interim" checkpoint in the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector. The first was completed in March 2010 at Interstate 19 north of Tubac in a $1.5 million project. A third interim checkpoint is scheduled to be 1lbuilt next year on Arizona 85 south of Gila Bend, Passement said.
There are 11 total checkpoints in the Tucson Sector, which stretches from New Mexico to Yuma County. But Arizona is the only state along the U.S.-Mexico border without permanent checkpoints. That's because a long-standing congressional requirement prohibiting stationary checkpoints
There are 11 total checkpoints in the Tucson Sector, which stretches from New Mexico to Yuma County. But Arizona is the only state along the U.S.-Mexico border without permanent checkpoints. That's because a long-standing congressional requirement prohibiting stationary checkpoints
 many border-area residents question why the Border Patrol is patrolling so far north of the international line. "Patrol the border at the border" is a popular mantra in the borderlands.
The Arizona 90 checkpoint is about 30 miles north of the border. The I-19 checkpoint sits about 25 miles north of the border.
During the three-month construction period, the Border Patrol will not be operating the checkpoint on Arizona 90. It's located at milepost 304 just a few miles north of the intersection with Arizona 82. But agents will continue to patrol the area, Passement said.
The canopy structure going up there will look like a smaller version of the overhang at the I-19 checkpoint, which measures 105-by-115-foot. The I-19 structure is attached to a series of thick steel beams and has low concrete walls on both sides of the northbound lanes.

The company that built the I-19 checkpoint - MRM Construction of Phoenix - is handling construction at Arizona 90.
The Border Patrol has yet to hear any complaints about the new checkpoint going up on Arizona 90, Passement said. That might be because it's not close to as many residential areas as the I-19 facility. The tiny community of Whetstone is a few miles south of the Arizona 90 checkpoint, but Huachuca City is 8 miles south and Sierra Vista is 12 miles south