Border security officials on Thursday named the finalists for second group of companies that will build prototypes for President Donald Trump’s proposed wall along the southwest border.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) selected four companies to build walls constructed of “other materials” that will allow the agency to test new designs that complement existing concrete and fence structures. Last week, CBP handed out four contracts for concrete prototypes. (RELATED: Homeland Security Announces Border Wall Prototype Finalists)
The companies chosen Thursday are: Caddell Construction Co. of Montgomery, Ala.; KWR Construction Inc. of Sierra Vista, Ariz.; ELTA North America Inc. of Annapolis Junction, Md.; and W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Company of Philadelphia, Miss.
Caddell and Yates were also winning bidders in the concrete category.
The eight prototypes will cost a total of $3.6 million and will be constructed on federal land near San Diego, reports the Associated Press. CBP expects work on the prototypes to begin in the fall after border security officials have had a chance to meet with the contractors to iron out a construction timeline.
Trump has suggested that a border barrier could include solar panels or openings to allow agents to see through the other side. It was not immediately clear if any of the prototypes will incorporate those elements.
As it did during the campaign, the wall remains the centerpiece of Trump’s border security agenda. The president said he would use the threat of a government shutdown to force Democratic opponents to include border wall funds in an emergency spending deal to keep the government running past Sept. 30.
That threat was set aside when Congress passed a continuing resolution and hurricane relief package on Thursday, but the issue is likely to surface again in December when lawmakers have to hammer out a Fiscal Year 2018 budget.
Congress appropriated $20 million in the FY2017 budget to build the prototypes but has not set aside any other funds for the wall itself. The White House budget proposal for FY18 requests $2.6 billion for “high-priority tactical infrastructure and border security technology” — $1.6 billion is for a physical barrier and $1 billion is for supplemental infrastructure and technology.
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