For a wide variety of reasons, major construction initiatives have the potential to be divisive. All over the U.S., projects such as the highly politicized $10 billion Foxconn plant in Wisconsin have met resistance from activists, politicians and local citizens.
Here are some of the most contentious projects that have made significant progress this year, and the backlash the work has encountered.
This project started as a campaign promise of former President Donald Trump, who vowed to build a wall along the U.S./Mexico border and “make Mexico pay for it.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took it over when Trump left office, and some work was completed in 2020 along the state border with Mexico near the Rio Grande River, according to the Texas Tribune.