Last year we paid $2800.00 for a 6 foot high block wall fence for the back part of our yard!! One side of our yard only! For four grand we could have the other side of our yard done with a full on 6 foot wall!!!!  Somebody is making out like a bandit and I think it might be worth hiring an attorney to look into it.  Kind of like our government paying $2000 for a $20 hammer eh!

James, if you continue to uncover this type of government dealings, someone in the mob is going to put a hit out on you. Either that, or I see a Pulitzer Prize in your future. 

James-

Materials in the project you have written about cost no more than about $60.00. Any mason will tend to do quite well on a Public Works project but this is not at no cost. Public works projects tend to have high demands on the mason, i.e they need an emergency repair done, special inspections have to be done by 3rd party inspectors, access is bad, etc...As a producer of Concrete Masonry Units, we have to factor in the potential of a re-run due to their extremely high standards on moisture content, shrinkage, etc.. Not to mention we have to invest in special molds just for Cal Trans Projects because they have rejected the typical configuration used by 90% of installers.

Also, witterpitters got a pretty standard deal on their wall assuming that it is the average 60' across. You can basically count on labor, materials, installation costing approx $40-45 per lineal foot. The mason does not make a bundle of profit at this price. It is important that we remember, steel (rebar is a key component in a masonry wall) prices have increased 55% in the last year, concrete (ready mix) used in the footing and in grouting the cells every 48" on center has also dramatically increased in the last 2 years. Masonry producers are working off prices that have remained the same since 2006. In fact our list price for the most commonly used fence wall block is $.60 less than what you pay at Home Depot or Lowes... 

Just some information for you. Take it for what it's worth.