Thread: The Border Wall May Not Be Concrete: DHS Looks For ‘Other Designs’

Posted By Thomas Phippen On 11:20 AM 03/15/2017

As lawmakers continue to debate how to pay for President Donald Trump’s wall along the border with Mexico, the Department of Homeland Security is considering how to build it.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is considering alternative design methods for the border wall, which will span up to 2,000 miles of the southern border, the CPB said Tuesday in a notice to potential vendors on the government contracting website FedBizOpps.

Department officials said earlier in March they envision “concrete wall structures, nominally 30 feet tall, that will meet requirements for aesthetics, anti-climbing, and resistance to tampering or damage,” fulfilling Trump’s vision for a “tall, powerful, beautiful wall.”

Now, CPB plans to release two separate requests for design proposals, “one focused on concrete designs, and one focused on other designs,” in order to accommodate industry feedback.

Once the department releases the request for proposals, vendors and contractors can submit their designs for review. CBP will select a few of those to bid on contracts to build and construct the wall.

“Industry interest has been high,” CBP said in its announcement. More than 650 companies, mainly construction companies, architecture and design firms, have declared interest in competing for contracts for the border wall project.

A spokesman for CBP told The Daily Caller News Foundation that he would not speculate on what sort of other designs the department was looking for.

One of the interested vendors, however, wants the government to consider constructing a wall out of old shipping containers. “One of our goals was to not be like the Great Wall of China or the Berlin Wall or any of those typologies that represent division,” Francisco Llado, principal architect at DOMO, a Miami-based design firm, told Politico. “Our design is not about division but about unity of sense and sustainable functionality.”

The border wall project is a divisive issue in American politics. Some of the firms that initially declared interest when the border wall project was first announced February 24 have backed out.

Raytheon, an engineering giant and Leo A Daly, an international architecture firm, were reportedly on the list of interested vendors at the start of the project, but have since withdrawn.

“We have formally withdrawn the web submission,” John J. Kraskiewicz, chief operations officer with Leo A Daly, told TheDCNF. The company automatically confirms interest in government projects in their wheelhouse, but had no interest in working on a wall structure along the Mexican border. There was never “any decision at any point that the firm had actual interest in this opportunity,” Kraskiewicz said.

While DHS moves forward planning the project, lawmakers are still debating how to pay for the wall. Trump insists that Mexico will pay for the wall, but Mexican officials have vehemently denied it will never happen.

The total cost and timeline of the project are unclear, but it will likely be a lucrative endeavor for the companies selected. Trump said the cost could be around $12 billion, and House Speaker Paul Ryan floated the number $15 billion. A Department of Homeland Security report obtained by Reuters earlier this month put the cost at $21 billion for the entire project.

http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/15/th...other-designs/

The shipping container idea gives me a thought, but not exactly that. Instead a tall wall (20 feet or more) with a large horizontal ledge, jutting out several feet would be hard to get over. Then they would have to have a tall ladder. I still say that moveable observation towers that they can put on nearby hilltops, and also close to identified routes, would be the quickest and cheapest. If used in conjunction with some aircraft and dogs.

Department officials said earlier in March they envision “concrete wall structures, nominally 30 feet tall, that will meet requirements for aesthetics, anti-climbing, and resistance to tampering or damage,” fulfilling Trump’s vision for a “tall, powerful, beautiful wall.”

That's pretty much the "wall" Trump led us to believe would be built. That is why he often referred to it as a wall vice a fence. Tens of million of American citizens bought into his vision. Let's not disappoint.

Originally Posted by Captainron

The shipping container idea gives me a thought, but not exactly that. Instead a tall wall (20 feet or more) with a large horizontal ledge, jutting out several feet would be hard to get over. Then they would have to have a tall ladder. I still say that moveable observation towers that they can put on nearby hilltops, and also close to identified routes, would be the quickest and cheapest. If used in conjunction with some aircraft and dogs.

The "cheapest" doesn't normally equate to the best. Besides that, the so-called virtual fence back around 2006-2008 (very expensive boondoggle) that included many observation towers was supposed to secure the border. For a variety of reasons, it didn't work.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/watching...virtual-fence/

We all know that securing the border will take a combination of things. And in my opinion, a quality wall, or maybe even a detailed fencing system, needs to be a integral part of any plan.

While costly, I'd like to try Trump's concrete "wall" vision as part of our secure the border plan. You can't squeeze through, drive through, or easily scale such a wall. I'm talking about a steel rebar reinforced concrete wall.

The openness to "other materials" is a good thing - nothing ventured, nothing gained and some design firms can be quite creative with functional as well as ecologically minded concepts. Like the thoughts of re-using existing materials. Other countries build houses & other facilities from discarded plastic bottles, forming them into large cinderblock like shapes. There are others that recycle trash or other industry used discarded materials.

If it will be as strong as cement then it is worth looking at the submissions. The making of cement is highly toxic to our health with tons of toxic mercury emitted. It is not just sand and water but added ingredients that are caustic and requires a kiln like heat baking with into the air releases and probably into a stream/water discharge.

If I have to work with cement, gloves are a must otherwise my skin in destroyed and takes a while to heal as new layers of skin must grow. Wear a mask too as it is an irritant to the sinuses.

Yes, explore all possibilities and I think the idea of using things already in existence is a great idea.

Although, personally, I would like to see a 'human' wall put up now.

Bring our troops home from all of Bush/Cheney, Clinton/Obama wars - bring the equipment and put them on the border.

nntrixie, I'm with you. I posted long ago a plan for a Wall of Americans on the Southern Border. I calculated how many we need, how many on a shift, what their salary would be, their supplies, gear and equipment, and it was very affordable. I had units on every mile 24 hours a day. 40,000 Americans, 20 per mile for each of 2000 miles, working on average in 6 person units, 3 shifts per day, with 2 floaters to cover sick leave and vacations. Pay them $40,000 a year plus good benefits x 25%, $50,000 a year x 40,000 people = $2 billion a year. Add $3 billion a year for equipment and supplies, and there you have it, $2.3 billion a year and you created 40,000 good jobs. That was all based on averages, some areas might not need 20 per mile, while others might need 30 per mile, the pros can work it out.

$2.3 billion a year, add another couple of billion if you want for management and administration, etc., that's $2.5 billion a year to save at least $113 billion that we spend on illegal aliens nationwide every year.

That's a deal I'd take in a New York minute!

Compare that to 100,000 IRS Agents collecting income tax at a cost of $14 billion a year.

Pass the FairTax and establish a Wall of Americans on the Southern Border and things start correcting themselves very quickly in the United States.

Economics is cost v effect. If you just want to stop people quickly the means are already available. It's a matter of prioritizing. DHS could probably even find a cadre of volunteers to help although I don't know if it would be administratively allowed. What the Trump Administration should be doing is confronting the long term consequences of our gradually distorted immigration system.

We need a 10 to 20 Year Moratorium on All Immigration.

Visitors welcome!!

Temporary special skills (6 months or project specific) welcome!!

Diplomats welcome!!

Business Visitors welcome!!

Tourists welcome!!

Long-term or Permanent Residents ... not now, our Inn is full, there is no room, no jobs, no money.

Originally Posted by nntrixie

Yes, explore all possibilities and I think the idea of using things already in existence is a great idea.

Although, personally, I would like to see a 'human' wall put up now.

Bring our troops home from all of Bush/Cheney, Clinton/Obama wars - bring the equipment and put them on the border.

excerpt:

WHAT THE NATIONAL GUARD CAN DO ON THE BORDER

The Posse Comitatus Act and subsequent legislation specifically prohibit the use of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines to enforce the domestic laws of the United States except when expressly authorized by the Constitution or Congress.

Since it enforces maritime safety, environmental and trade laws, the Coast Guard is exempt from the Posse Comitatus Act.

While Posse Comitatus does not specifically apply to the actions of the National Guard, National Guard regulations stipulate that its troops, unless authorized by Congress, are not to take part in typical law enforcement actions including arrests, searches of suspects or the public, or evidence handling.

https://www.thoughtco.com/posse-comi...border-3321286