HIDALGO, Texas – A border tunnel discovered last month that was used as a shortcut from Mexico to the Rio Grande Valley is set to be destroyed in the coming days.
The 60-foot tunnel was discovered by U.S. Border Patrol agents patrolling the river.
The tunnel is about 1,500 feet downriver from the Hidalgo County Water Improvement District 3 pump station on U.S. Fish and Wildlife property.
"It was a lot of work because it's something you can't do with machinery. It was done by hand. There's no question about that," said Othal Brand, president and general manager of Hidalgo County Water Improvement District 3.
Brand said Border Patrol officials contacted him about destroying the tunnel that is at the bottom of a 30-foot embankment. Its location makes it dangerous and impossible for Brand and his crews to use heavy machinery in the area.
"I've lived here all my life and I've never seen that in the Valley," Brand said.
The tunnel is also near the same place President Donald Trump has proposed building a border wall, giving some folks doubts that a wall is a viable solution to border security, but Brand disagrees.
"How can you get into the United States? You can walk, run, crawl, swim, come on a bike, a motorcycle, a bus, a truck, a plane. Digging a tunnel to get in the United States of America has got to be the hardest thing to do to get in this country," Brand said.
The tunnel is set be blown up using dynamite in coming days.