WASHINGTON _ At a cost of up to $4 million a mile, the concrete and steel fence rising along the Southwest border constitutes one of the most ambitious public works projects in years, encompassing legions of federal bureaucrats and a lineup of blue-ribbon contractors.

By Eileen Sullivan WASHINGTON - The Bush administration will use its authority to bypass more than 30 laws and regulations to finish building 670 miles of fence along the southwest U.S. border by the end of 2008, federal officials said Tuesday.

By NICOLE GAOUETTE By Nicole Gaouette Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON In an aggressive move to finish building 670 miles of border fence by the end of 2008, the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it would waive federal environmental laws to meet that goal.

By BRADY MCCOMBS Land swap: best deal possible or bad precedent? SASABE - Less than three months after bulldozers broke ground, construction crews are nearing completion of a seven-mile border fence that stretches across one of the busiest corridors in the nation for people- and drug-smuggling.

By Brady McCombs, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Nov. 17--SASABE -- Less than three months after bulldozers broke ground, construction crews are nearing completion of a seven-mile border fence that stretches across one of the busiest corridors in the nation for people- and drug-smuggling.