A recent drone video released by the US Customs and Border Protection agency shows five completed border wall prototypes in the California Desert that are competing to be a part of President Donald Trump’s Mexican border wall campaign.
So far, the contractors that have been able to finish their structures are ELTA North America from Maryland, Caddell Construction Co. LLC from Alabama, Texas Sterling Construction Co. from Houston, and Fisher Sand & Gravel from Arizona.
Beside Fisher Sand & Gravel’s prototype is an outline of a wall that is about to be build by another construction company from Arizona, KWR Construction.
The video also reveals two partially-finished prototypes that sit on the west part of the site. The two structures are still being constructed by Mississippi contractor W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Company.
The various walls have different features as out of the eight contracts doled out as part of Trump’s campaign, four are commissioned to be made out of concrete while the other four are to be constructed out of materials other than concrete.
Additionally, some prototypes are made of see-through slats that will allow the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to see through to the Mexican side. There are also others that are designed with a slope on the American side and a straight wall on the other.
All eight prototypes are expected to be completely erected by the end of October. All of them adhere to Trump’s standard which Roy Villareal, acting chief patrol agent of the San Diego border, says calls for “a fence that is impenetrable, it’s unscalable… They can’t dig under it. They can’t cut through it,” the UK’s Daily Mail reported.
Villareal also says that the CBP may pick several winners or none. Another unnamed contractor will evaluate each prototype as well.
All in all, the eight contracts cost ranges from $320,000 to $480,000. CBP has already set a budget to pay for the entire project.
