Monday afternoon, the U.S. Border Patrol opened a new state-of-the-art checkpoint on Highway 90 near Cline.

The new all-weather Border Patrol Checkpoint opened at approximately 1 p.m. This is the first of its kind to be constructed in Del Rio Sector. Located nine miles west of the Uvalde Post Office on U.S. Highway 90, the new facility will provide a much safer working environment for agents by moving vehicle inspection off the busy roadway.

The checkpoint will normally operate with two lanes of traffic. One lane will be designated for large trucks and the second lane will be utilized for normal passenger vehicles. The new checkpoint sits on 15 acres of land and places the entire inspection process underneath an 18,000-square-foot canopy permitting round-the-clock, all-weather operation. Additionally, the new checkpoint site includes a 4,000-square-foot office building, which contains both administrative offices and detention areas.

The site of the checkpoint was initially purchased by the Uvalde County Sheriff's Office in 1999. The purchase was made during the period when Beaumont Watkins served as Uvalde County Sheriff and Charlie Mendeke served as the Department's sergeant investigator. Drug forfeiture funds were utilized to make the purchase and the land was then donated to the United States Border Patrol for construction of an all-weather checkpoint in September 2000.

U.S. Customers and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.