San Diego

Deadline to Complete Border Wall Prototypes Fast Approaching

The construction companies have until Oct. 26 to finish the prototypes

The deadline to complete the border wall prototypes is fast approaching with only eight days left.

Five of the eight prototypes are now standing. Four of the prototypes are made of concrete. The other four are made of steel and other material.

NBC 7 revisited the site to get a progress report on the current progress of each prototype. The site is in the middle of nowhere – about two miles east of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry and approximately 50 yards from Mexico.

Six construction companies were given eight contracts. Two of them were given two contracts; one for a concrete prototype and one for a prototype built by a different material.

At this stage, the construction companies have not given out details about what technologies their prototypes have. But U.S. Border Patrol agents explained how the prototypes will be more efficient than the current wall.

β€œPrototypes are going to make our jobs easier and more efficient,” said U.S. Border Patrol Agent Eduardo Olmos. "We’re trying to modernize what we have at this time.”

All the prototypes must have specific characteristics which include: anti-climbing features, anti-digging features, a height requirement between 18 to 30 feet, the ability to blend in with surroundings and the ability to withstand a 30-minute attack with anything from sledgehammers to household tools.

Right now the 60-mile stretch U.S. Border Patrol Agents monitor along the San Diego border has a primary wall built in 1991. It uses landing mat material from the Vietnam Era. There is also a secondary wall made from steel mesh.

The construction companies have until Oct. 26 to finish the prototypes.

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