San Francisco City Officials Announce Completion of Suicide Barrier at Golden Gate Bridge
On January 3, officials from San Francisco announced that the suicide prevention barrier at the Golden Gate Bridge has been completed. Construction teams worked diligently to install stainless steel mesh along both sides of the bridge ahead of schedule.
Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, the public relations director for the Golden Gate Bridge, stated: “We are pleased to announce that as of January 1, 2024, the Golden Gate Bridge has a suicide prevention barrier installed along its entire span. This steel mesh has functioned as intended to save lives and prevent individuals from coming to the bridge to harm themselves.”
The iconic bridge of San Francisco. (Photo: ABC News).
Why Is the Golden Gate Bridge Called a “Suicide Hotspot”?
The Golden Gate Bridge is regarded as a symbol of San Francisco and one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world. Golden Gate Bridge, also known as Kim Môn kiều, is a suspension bridge that spans the Golden Gate Strait, a 1.6 km wide strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
This bridge connects the city of San Francisco, California, USA—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula—to Marin County, including U.S. Route 101 and California Route 1 across the strait. The bridge is one of the most recognizable landmarks of San Francisco.
When completed in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world and became an international symbol of San Francisco, with a main span of 1,280 meters and a total height of 227 meters.
It can be said that the Golden Gate Bridge is one of the greatest transportation structures in the United States, but it is also infamously known as a “suicide hotspot” due to the alarming number of suicides. Since its opening, approximately 1,700 individuals have taken their lives here. Just one day after the bridge’s inauguration, there was a suicide.
This figure is believed to be underreported, as many victims may have been swept out to San Francisco Bay and never recovered.
The stainless steel mesh installed under the bridge. (Photo: CNN).
The Lifeline Mesh
Installing the 6-meter-wide mesh parallel to the edges of both sides of the 2.7 km-long bridge took the Transportation and Highway Agency three years to complete. The mesh had to be made of stainless steel, thin enough to not detract from the bridge’s beauty, yet strong enough to support individuals attempting suicide.
The nearly 6 km long mesh along the Golden Gate Bridge (including both sides)—equivalent to 7 football fields—will stand at 2 meters high without any horizontal rungs for individuals to climb over.
The mesh is gray to blend into the fog that often envelops the bridge and the water below.
It is made of marine-grade stainless steel, capable of withstanding harsh environments with saltwater, fog, and strong winds that frequently affect the iconic orange structure at the entrance of San Francisco Bay.
Mr. Cosulich-Schwartz stated that the suicide prevention mesh system has been installed on 95% of the bridge. He added that due to construction and design limitations, some sections of the bridge have vertical railings instead of the mesh.
Heather Quisenberry, who lost her son to suicide at the bridge, described the completion of this mesh system as a bittersweet moment.
She said: “On one hand, I am very grateful that the mesh we have fought for will finally be completed and will help prevent future suicides on that bridge. On the other hand, if the suicide prevention system had been installed earlier, my son and others may not have had to leave us.”
Additionally, the Golden Gate Bridge management referenced studies by former professor at the University of California, Richard H. Seiden, and research from Harvard University’s School of Public Health, which indicated that 90% of individuals attempting suicide can be deterred if intervention occurs in time.
Therefore, with the installation of this lifeline mesh, it not only contributes to saving lives today but also creates new opportunities for tomorrow.
The mesh aims to prevent individuals from jumping and reduce the death rate of those who still attempt to jump, even if they may be severely injured. (Photo: CNN).
Kevin Hines, who regretted jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge at the age of 19, stated:
“If there had been a mesh there, I would have been stopped by the police and received the necessary help immediately, and I would never have broken my back and fractured three vertebrae,” Hines told AP.
Calls to action to address suicides began years ago from a small group of parents, including Hines’ father, Patrick, who established the Bridge Rail Foundation in 2006 to advocate for safety measures on the Golden Gate Bridge.
Along with regular monitoring and a sturdy mesh system, city officials hope that everyone will continue to cherish their lives. (Photo: CNN).
Mr. Cosulich-Schwartz stated that the nets and barriers have functioned as expected: as the project neared completion in 2023, the number of people jumping from the bridge had decreased by more than half.
However, this does not mean that no one chooses the Golden Gate Bridge for suicide. Some individuals still jump but land on the nets, and rescue teams help them escape. A few others have died by climbing over the nets and jumping into the ocean.
The mesh aims to prevent individuals from jumping and reduce the death rate of those who still attempt to jump, even if they may be severely injured.
According to Dennis Mulligan, general manager of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway & Transportation District, the net has been placed along the entire length of the bridge, both east and west.
“The mesh is solely intended to prevent jumpers and reduce the fatality rate when someone wants to commit suicide,” Mulligan said. “But it is a stainless steel mesh, not rubber, not soft, not elastic, so if you fall into it, it’s like being thrown into a cheese grater. We need to inform people that if you jump onto the mesh, you will also sustain serious injuries.”
Firefighters in both San Francisco and Marin Counties are being trained to descend and rescue anyone who jumps into the net. Currently, maintenance workers trained in rescue techniques have conducted several rescues.
On the bridge, members of the patrol team are always on the lookout for individuals with suicidal intentions and prevent them from jumping. Mulligan stated that last year, they prevented 149 individuals from taking their lives.
