White House to Get Taller Fence with Anti-Climb Technology

July 10, 2019

The U.S. Secret Service will build a new 13-foot fence to surround the White House, nearly doubling the height of the current fence to help keep intruders out.

The $64 million project will focus on the fence around the White House and its immediate surroundings. The existing fence stands about 6 feet, 6 inches tall.

The project will encompass the 18-acre White House complex and involves more than 3,500 feet of steel fencing. The current 6 feet 6 inch tall fence will be replaced by an approximately 13 feet tall fence with wider and stronger fence posts. The new fence incorporates anti-climb and intrusion detection technology and is designed to mitigate current and future security threats.

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

Improvements are also slated for fences around the Treasury Department and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, located on either side of the White House.

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