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SIERRA VISTA — Forty-four miles of new border pedestrian security fencing is being or will be built in Arizona beyond 100 miles of fencing and vehicle barriers now standing, federal officials said Tuesday at an open house.

Another 45 miles of vehicle barriers also will be added, Customs and Border Protection officials told residents, most of them living in Southeastern Arizona border areas.

But the meeting did little to detail where the new fencing is going up or explain why officials were seeking questions on fencing decisions that already have been made.

"We're here this evening in a listening mode," said Greg Gephart, deputy program manager for tactical infrastructure on the fence-building project. "Our primary purpose is to obtain your feedback, questions and information on potentially sensitive environmental resources."

The meeting offered people a chance individually to ask questions or to give comments in writing or to a court reporter, but without audience discussion.

Among about 40 people attending, several said they were puzzled about why officials were taking comments about fencing that already has been started or the Army Corps of Engineers has contracts to build. Gephart said environmental issues on fencing being built in the area already had been discussed at a previous community meeting. He did not say when or where that occurred.

A handout said the building project also plans nearly 50 more miles of access roads in Arizona, the focal point for illegal immigrants and drug trafficking across the Mexican border. The infrastructure is part of the Department of Homeland Security's Secure Border Initiative, aimed at reducing that flow.