SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - U.S. Customs and Border Protection started Tuesday construction on its second border wall project along the U.S-Mexico border.

The 14-mile long project consists of crews replacing existing barriers with new 30-foot tall steel bollards.

The contract was awarded to Texas-based construction company SLSCO Ltd.

The secondary wall project runs just north of the primary fence replacement project which started last summer.

San Diego secondary border wall construction has begun just east of 8 wall prototypes. @10News pic.twitter.com/E7aJZDxrwk — Travis Rice (@10NewsTravis) February 19, 2019

“These two important barriers, in combination with a patrol road and technology, create an enforcement zone for the USBP as part of a border wall system,” wrote CBP in a statement, “given the high-density population in the San Diego-Tijuana area, the updated border infrastructure is critically needed.”

Both projects are funded by Border Patrol’s 2017 and 2018 appropriations, not the money President Trump is seeking with his emergency declaration.

Border Patrol has been highlighting their aging infrastructure as the wall debate has raged on.

Aging border barriers in East County #SanDiego were dismantled and driven through twice this month. Last Thursday, agents operating near #Campo, CA discovered tire tracks heading north from the border fence. After a search, agents located an abandoned truck and 24 illegal aliens. pic.twitter.com/RfvRjfaPcy — CBP San Diego (@CBPSanDiego) February 18, 2019

Department of Homeland Security says they have apprehended more than 18,500 people illegally crossing the border in San Diego since October 2018.