U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced yesterday that the border wall prototypes that have been under construction are completed and will now undergo rigorous testing.
The agency will test and evaluate the prototypes to determine which wall design elements best meet security needs. This testing and evaluation period will last 30 to 60 days. They will be evaluated on a variety of characteristics such as:
- Anti-breaching capabilities
- Anti-climbing capabilities
- Anti-digging capabilities
- Impedance and denial of traffic
- Is it safe for BP agents
Two kinds of border wall prototypes were built: concrete and “other materials.” CBP had previously awarded contracts to a total of six companies to build them.
CBP officials told the Washington Examiner that once the testing phase is complete, the agency faces a potential standstill on moving forward with building the border wall without funding from Congress.
One spokesman said that the project cannot move forward without receiving $1.6 billion administration officials previously asked for from Congress but have yet to receive.
