Engineers Just Submitted an Incredible Proposal to Turn The US Border Wall Into a Hyperloop : ScienceAlert

The Trump administration is reviewing design bids for its proposed wall along the US-Mexico border. But not all plans are interpreting the word 'wall' literally.

A group of Mexican and American engineers and urban planners called MADE Collective want to build a US$1 trillion hyperloop transportation network instead.

The plan would turn the border into a shared nation, called Otra Nation, with an independent local government and nonvoting representatives in the US and Mexican legislatures.

The group submitted its design to the US Customs and Border Protection's official call for proposals in March.

It also launched a petition to replace the current border fencing with its hyperloop design.

Here are the details:

The Otra Nation's hyperloop network would stretch about 1,250 miles (2,000 km), turning the US-Mexico border into an unincorporated territory.

The Otra Nation's hyperloop network would stretch about 1,250 miles, turning the US-Mexico border into an unincorporated territory. MADE Collective

There would be stations along the hyperloop for people from any country to board.

There would be stations along the hyperloop for people from any country to board. MADE Collective

"The existence of the border wall has become more a signifier of status than a barrier that each population sustains in its own form of isolation towards the opposite side," the designers wrote in their proposal.

The network would also feature several solar farms, which would power the hyperloop.

The designers say an equal number of Americans and Mexicans would build the system.

The network would also feature several solar farms, which would power the hyperloop. The designers say an equal number of Americans and Mexicans would build the system. MADE Collective

MADE Collective is not the only one to submit a fantastical design for the border wall.

Other proposals include a wall covered in solar panels, a binational park, and an 'Inflatoborder' made of plastic bubbles.

The plan would cost approximately US$15 billion - less than the US$21 billion that the Department of Homeland Security estimated a border wall would cost.

The designers also predict that their system would create US$1 trillion in trade.

The plan would cost approximately $15 billion — less than the $21 billion that the Department of Homeland Security estimated a border wall would cost. The designers also predict that their system would create $1 trillion in trade. Reuters

"The 19th century brought us boundaries, the 20th century we built walls, the next will bridge nations by creating communities based on shared principles of economic resiliency, energy independence, and a trust-based society," the designers wrote.

Customs and Border Protection plans to announce in June the 10 companies it wants to hire to build prototypes of the border wall.

This article was originally published by Business Insider.