I've gone out to the construction site a few times over the past three months and just recently took some pictures. They've been working consistently for the past couple months on a 9a-3pm schedule M-F. So far a 150 ft wide road is being made that starts behind the water treatment plant and is almost fully functionally for about a mile. They are working on smoothing out that road and then extending it through Smuggler's Gulch by filling it in half way and then through Goat Canyon (not sure if they plan to fill that in or not) and the road will end at the Border Field State Park.
I got this information from several BP agents patrolling the region, asking the national guard and private companies working on the site, and deducing from what's been done so far.




Description of above video: This road starts behind the water treatment plant about 4 miles from the ocean. About a year ago this very wide road, was all native vegetation. Now it is one very wide dirt road that will be used by BP in order to move faster between the two fences. The second one is being rebuilt in some areas and extended in other areas where it was once prohibited by California environmental law to protect the Estuary Reserve unitl May of 2004 when a law passed that allows DHS to override ANY law for the purpose of building the triple fence.

They've put in two huge drainage systems on the west side and I'm worried that they are approaching a point of no return.

The secondary barrier that now ends where that road starts, will be extended along that road. I've also heard that they are planning to build a second road behind that and a third barrier behind that.

Smuggler's Gulch and all the vegetation along the way, include habitat for several endangered and native species. There are also many archeological sites that would be ruined with the construction of the road and later the fence. And, worst of all, the literal and symbolic creation of more division between people of the region. Make friends not fences!!

As you can see from the pics and video, they're progressing steadily toward smuggler's. I've gone out there on several ocasions over the last two weeks, but only took pics and video once. If you want to see more videos from different time periods over the last year, do a search on youtube, put in 'Watman'and the majority that show up will be my documentation (with company) over the past year of the progress. You can also look through posts on this blog for links to pics and video.


Pics and video (2 more videos below pics) from two weeks ago (I went out yesterday and they are still excavationg and making the road, but no progress westbound was noted from when these pics and video were taken 2 weeks ago, just more progress on the already existing portion). For more pics and descriptions of these and others, go to: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0IcuGTJm3YsWG8&emid=sharshar&linkid=link4


New drainage pipe
This is a second drainage system that was not there two months ago.

A lot of this vegetation has been around for centuries developing deep intricate root systems, only to be torn up in minutes by the construction.

This is where the smoothing out of the road hast got to so far. About 1/2 mile from smuggler's





In the same area where they are building the road and fence about 3 miles east of the ocean.



A crude clip of the entire site after the machines had quit for the day.