Construction of a 13ft fence around the White House has begun.
When completed, the new barrier will help keep the intruders out of the premises.
It will be getting difficult for tourists to take that perfect shot in front of the White House as the project is expected to get completed by 2021.
Even after its completion, the tourists will have to compromise on the unwanted tall fence bars hindering the view whenever they would capture snaps with the White House in their backdrop.
The new fence barrier will be costing a sum of $64 million for its construction.
According to the Secret Service, building a new barrier around the 18-acre premises was necessary for improving its security.
The Secret Service refused to reveal any details about the state-of-the-art technology features that will be incorporated in the new fence. But they did claim that the prospective barrier with wider pickets will be much stronger than the previous one.
The National Park Service, which maintains and upkeeps the residence of the POTUS, will also be involved during the extensive project.
According to reports, the design of the prospective barrier was approved in 2017 by both the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts.
The award of the contract was finalized for $64 million in June 2018.
The new fence pickets will be wider than the previous ones. A space of an extra inch between the pickets making a total of 5.5 inches between the fence posts will be introduced in the prospective fencing.
In the initial phase, the fence will be installed just around the main building and the areas immediately surrounding it. Later, the fencing will be extended to surround the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and the Treasury Department.
Officials got concerned about the loopholes in their security system after a Texas man armed with a knife entered the White House by scaling a fence in September 2014.
At the time, the officials decided to set up another barrier made of metal bike racks, besides the actual one, so that the intruders have to scale two difficult fences.
Later in 2015, ‘anti-climb’ aspect was also added to the fence by introducing pointed metal spikes on its top.
Despite all these security measures, another concerning incident took place in 2017 when a California man with a mace in his hand scaled the executive mansion’s fence while President Trump was at the White House.
The man kept wandering on the grounds for 17 minutes before being caught by Secret Service.