Construction on a barrier designed to prevent people from jumping from the San Diego-Coronado Bridge is expected to begin this year, with completion projected in 2028.
More than 400 people have jumped from the bridge since it was completed in 1969, and it is often cited as the second-most utilized of the nation’s “suicide bridges.”
The project has been years in the making, and in effort to expedite it, will be the first design-build project that the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has ever undertaken.
The deterrent will be a vertical net that will stretch along the expanse of the bridge. It will be between 7.5 and 8.5 feet higher than the current railing.
By constructing the deterrent as it is built, Caltrans shaved a year from the $140 million project’s timeline.
A Harvard University study found that 9 out of 10 survivors of suicide attempts do not ultimately die by suicide. Making suicide from atop the 200-foot Coronado Bridge so easy, advocates argue, robs those in struggle from the chance to reconsider.
Wayne Strickland, a 32-year veteran of the Coronado Fire Department and the founder of the grassroots movement, Coronado San Diego Bridge Collaborative For Suicide Prevention, is one of many in the community pushing for the deterrent.
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge was once cited as the nation’s most popular bridge for suicide, but a similar deterrent was installed in 2023. Since then, incidents of jumping have plummeted: the bridge saw 2.48 suicides per month on average prior to construction, and only 0.67 after installation.
The proposed barrier is not the first attempt at dissuading people from jumping. In 2019, four-inch spikes were installed along the edge of the bridge, but they have not stopped the problem.
Resources are available for those who are struggling. If you or someone you know needs help, call the 24-hour Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.