The last two of eight prototypes for President Donald Trump's proposed border wall took shape Thursday at a construction site in San Diego.
The prototypes, including one built by Israeli defense firm Elta, form a tightly packed row of imposing concrete and metal panels, including one with sharp metal edges on top.
[...] The models, which cost the government up to $500,000 each, were spaced 30 feet (9.1 meters) apart. Slopes, thickness and curves vary. One has two shades of blue with white trim. The others are gray, tan or brown — in sync with the desert.
Bidding guidelines call for the prototypes to stand between 18 and 30 feet (5.5 and 9.1 meters) high and be able to withstand at least an hour of punishment from a sledgehammer, pickaxe, torch, chisel or battery-operated tools.
Features also should prevent the use of climbing aids such as grappling hooks, and the segments must be "aesthetically pleasing" when viewed from the US side.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Saturday October 21 2017, @01:15PM (1 child)
Looking at the wall sections, I'm thinking I'm in the wrong business. $300 - 500,000 for a short section of wall like that? What is that, 100x labor and material costs?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by looorg on Saturday October 21 2017, @01:38PM
That is probably just prototype and R&D costs. The actual wall segments won't be $500k each. At least I don't think so. That would be insane even for the biggest ever gravy contract. But still there is probably a substantial markup from actual material and labor costs to whatever the segments will actually cost to manufacture and what they'll sell for.