In June of last year, as part of an environmental review, Caltrans unveiled a proposal to add fencing along both sides of the iconic Coronado Bridge, citing a need for safety after a series of people died by suicide jumping off the bridge.
The plan's supporters argue that it would save lives — according to the report, more people take their lives on the Coronado Bridge than any other span in America, save the Golden Gate Bridge.
Late last week, Caltrans announced it was moving ahead with the plan, at least insofar as the design elements are concerned, and had set aside $14 million to design the suicide-deterrent for the bridge. The funding is part of the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, also known as SB 1, which set aside more than $250 million for public works on public roads.
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"Last year, the project completed the environmental review process,” said Caltrans District 11 Director Gustavo Dallarda. “This new funding is an important next step to allow Caltrans to move into the final design phase of the project. An untraditional project for Caltrans, but an important one that will have a big impact on the lives of many Californians.”
To clarify, the fences themselves are not going to cost $14 million, that's how much Caltrans has allocated for the design of the fences, which seems pretty nailed down in last year's announcement. To wit:
- A metal continuous top plate would be installed on top of the existing railing to provide connection brackets for posts and anchorage for maintenance needs (base plate may be discontinuous at light pole locations)
- Vertical posts would measure no more than 4 by 6 inches in diameter
- Posts would be similar in visual quality to brushed stainless-steel or brushed aluminum, with ground smooth welds the same color and reflective quality of adjacent material
- The vertical net would be composed of an unpainted stainless-steel netting, with a maximum 2-millimeter (mm) wire size.
- The net may have a slight angle up to 15 degrees to follow the splay of the existing concrete rail
- The design would use top tension cables no larger than 19 mm that would hold the woven mesh netting between posts
- A minimum net transparency of 85 percent would be achieved
Other options to the vertical fencing, such as a horizontal fence below the roadway, were studied and discarded due to "additional maintenance and operation costs of extraordinary magnitude," for example.
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There is a lot more to "design" than just the design, according to last summer's environmental review.
"During project design, avoidance, minimization and/or mitigation measures will be incorporated into the project’s final plans, specifications," the report stated.
Another element of "design" is determining what such a project would cost. It seems likely that, if it's going to cost $14 million just for the design, the construction of the project will cost quite a bit more.
If you or someone you know needs help, please contact the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988, or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting ‘Home’ to 741741, anytime.
