Four companies have submitted building proposals for the planned border wall by President Trump.
According to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the four concrete prototypes that have been provided are all 30ft long and are up to 30ft tall, they are expected to be approved and built in a few months time.
It is anticipated that officials will spend up to 60 days testing the quality of the wall to see if it can easily be penetrated with small tools. The four contracts that have been submitted are reportedly worth to $500,000 dollars each.
The Mexican wall is one of the key aspects of President Trump’s election pledge so his followers assume that he would want to follow through on it.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced it will award contracts to four companies to build four prototypes for the wall. The CBP has provided few details of the concrete prototypes and said funding for four other prototypes for a see-through structure will be awarded next week.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Deputy Commissioner Ronald Vitiello, showed a concept illustration of a U.S.-Mexico border enforcement zone during a news conference Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, announcing the selected vendors for construction of the concrete wall prototypes for the border wall, in Washington
The prototypes “will help us refine the design standards” of the eventual wall, acting CBP deputy commissioner Ronald Vitiello said. “Testing will look at things like the aesthetics of it, how penetrable they are, how resistant they are to tampering, and scaling or anti-climb features.” However, he revealed that officials will only make use of small hand tools instead of huge weapons like bombs.
The walls will also include cable conduits and other design features for sensors and cameras. And after the prototypes have been approved, the building will commence right away.
The four companies that have submitted their prototypes are:
- Caddell Construction, in Montgomery, Alabama
- Fisher Industries in Tempe, Arizona
- Texas Sterling Construction in Houston, Texas
- WG Yates & Sons Construction in Philadelphia, Mississippi
Mr. Vitiello further revealed that he is not aware if the companies that have submitted their proposals have experience in border wall construction.
The four companies that have been shortlisted are part of the over 200 companies that submitted their proposals for the wall. There will also be contract proposals for the walls by companies who want to make use of other materials beside from concrete next week, when they’ll be announced.