Progress for Trump wall

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has selected four companies to build prototypes for President Trump’s US-Mexico border wall using materials other than concrete.

This follows the recent announcement that the contracts for potential concrete solutions had been chosen.

In March of this year, CBP issued two Requests for Proposals to acquire conceptual wall designs with the intention of constructing a number of prototypes. One was for concrete designs and the other was for non-concrete prototypes.

The contractors selected from those who responded to the Request for Proposal for non-concrete prototypes were Alabama-based Caddell Construction, Arizona-based KWR Construction, Maryland-based ELTA North America and Mississippi-based WG Yates & Sons Construction Company.

It was said that, once constructed, the prototypes would serve two purposes: firstly, they would deter illegal crossings in the areas where they were constructed; and secondly, they would provide an innovative perspective on the application of new materials, allowing CBP to evaluate the potential for new wall and barrier designs.

CBP said it would partner with industry to identify the best ways to construct a border wall, identifying design characteristics that could expand the current border barrier toolkit based on US Border Patrol requirements.

The prototypes are expected to be constructed this autumn.