Texas officials suggested the federal government could pick up construction. However, during President Trump’s first term, his administration built about one-third of what the state was able to put up in the same amount of time.

At least a third of landowners approached by state officials have refused to let wall be built on their properties. That’s forced the state to largely build on ranchland in remote areas, or erect sections that are full of gaps.

A Starr County property was purchased to build border wall, while Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said the state has many options for a sprawling ranch in West Texas.

The state has spent $4 billion on border initiatives in the past two years, including $40 million to bus migrants out of Texas into Democrat-led cities.

The governor said Mike Banks, a recently retired Border Patrol agent, will work with the Texas National Guard and state troopers to find ways to deter people from crossing the border illegally.

The two companies awarded contracts on Thursday will erect border barriers in Del Rio and the Rio Grande Valley.

Texas plans to repurpose the panels, left over when the Biden administration halted work on former President Donald Trump’s wall, to erect 1.3 miles of border barrier.

Abbott unveiled the first 900 feet of border barrier Saturday. But the state has been mum on where it plans to build additional barriers and how many miles it can afford.

One of the companies being considered previously built a 3-mile barrier that is at risk of falling into the Rio Grande.

The state is expected to award the contract in mid-September to begin the construction of a Texas-Mexico border wall.