WASHINGTON — The White House is getting a new 13-foot fence, almost double its current height, to help keep intruders out.

The Secret Service says the $64 million construction project will soon begin on what eventually will be a 13-foot, 1-inch fence, including wider and stronger pickets.

The existing fence stands about 6-feet, 6 inches tall.

The Secret Service, which provides security protection for the president and the White House, declined to provide details of the state-of-the-art security features it says will be part of the new barrier.

Officials concluded that a taller fence was needed after a series of breaches of White House security, including in September 2014, when a Texas man carrying a knife scaled the fence, sprinted across the North Lawn and entered the White House.