Workers begin building barrier for judges’ parking lot

The security wall that will surround a parking lot used by Cameron County state district judges and the district attorney is finally taking shape.

County workers on Thursday were laying concrete blocks for the 12-foot concrete barrier that will also have an electronic gate entrance that only the judges and the district attorney will have access to.

Currently, the judges are escorted to and from the courthouse by their court bailiffs.

“They (the judges) have been pretty patient with us,” said County Administrator Pete Sepulveda Jr., who is overseeing the project.” His office gives the judges a weekly update on the wall’s status, he said.

Work on the wall happened sporadically since March.

Work halted in May as contractors waited for the arrival of special white-burnished cement blocks that had to be used as per city of Brownsville permit requirements, Sepulveda said.

Now that the blocks have arrived, “we would wrap it up pretty quick,”Sepulveda said.

The estimated cost of the project remains at $240,000, but Sepulveda said the cost could be lower once the project is completed. The wall is expected to be done in about 60 days.

State District Judge Leonel Alejandro approached county commissioners in December asking commissioners court to approve the wall because the judges are seeing an increase in gang-related activity and cited a court sentencing case that involved a Texas Syndicate gang member convicted of murder.