There has been an annual average of about 30 confirmed suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge over the last 20 years, but since the installation of a lifesaving barrier, that rate has significantly declined, officials said.
As completion of the barrier neared in 2023, there were 14 recorded suicides. Since Jan. 1, when the barrier was finished, there have been three confirmed suicides, said Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, spokesperson for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.
In a typical year before the net, there would have been 15 to 20 suicides at this point in the year, he said.
Attempts have also declined since it was completed. There have been 56 successful interventions this year where first responders or bridge workers dissuaded people from jumping. That’s compared to the average of at least 150 interventions for this time in the pre-net era.
“The net is working as intended to save lives and deter people from coming to the bridge to harm themselves,” Cosulich-Schwartz said.
This week, after years of work to complete the barrier, dignitaries joined families who lost loved ones to the bridge to commemorate the completion of the $224 million project.
Although a barrier has been in place since New Year’s Day, the commemoration was delayed until the contractor could remove most of the scaffolding used to do the work, Cosulich-Schwartz said.
Kymberlyrenee Gamboa, whose 18-year-old son Kyle Gamboa died after jumping off the bridge in 2013, was among those who celebrated the barrier at the ceremony at Vista Point in Sausalito on Monday.
Gamboa said the completion “signifies hope, compassion and a commitment to saving lives.”
“This deterrent is not just a physical barrier, it is a symbol of our collective effort to prevent the loss of life and the lifelong heartache that follows,” she said. “This deterrent shows we care, that we all care about human beings, that we all care about life.”
“Nothing will ever bring my son back, and I miss him every single day, as I know so many feel the same who have lost a loved one to this bridge,” Gamboa said. “But this deterrent shows that we care deeply about those we have lost and those who may be at risk in the future.”
Nearly 2,000 people have died after jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge since it opened in 1937. The first reported incident occurred just a week after its opening, according to the bridge district.
Officials approved the barrier project more than a decade ago. Though work began in 2018, the installation of the 20-foot-wide stainless steel mesh nets didn’t start until 2022, due to repeated delays.
The net sits 20 feet below the deck and extends 20 feet out, running the length of the 1.7-mile bridge. It’s not visible from cars crossing the bridge, but pedestrians standing by the rails can see them.
The net is meant to both deter people from jumping and to catch anyone who does, though they will likely be badly injured if they do, officials said.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who helped the Golden Gate Bridge district secure federal funding for the project, attended the ceremony to show her gratitude for the families who pushed to get the barrier built.
“You turned your pain, and your anger in many cases, into action, so that we can save other lives,” said Pelosi, a former House speaker. “We are grateful to you for that. Thank you for your advocacy, your generosity of spirit.”
Pelosi said when the project was proposed, “people would say, ‘It’s too much money, it costs too much money to do that.’”
“Well, how much money is too much money to save lives?” she said. “We just had to reject that attitude.”
“This is an iconic bridge and a source of pride to us,” Pelosi said. “But it has been a source of pain to families and we want that to stop. It must stop, and it will stop because of the families activism and mobilization.”
Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt serves on the boards of the Golden Gate Bridge district and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
“The suicide deterrent net will give people another chance and shed the dark cloud that has loomed large over the bridge’s legacy as an engineering marvel,” Rabbitt said. “The net will not bring back the loved ones lost, but it will spare countless other families from similar heartbreak in the future, and for this we can be thankful, thoughtful and, above all, hopeful.”
More work remains. The physical barrier refers to net and fencing, but there is still a section where there is fencing instead of a net due to ongoing construction of the bridge’s maintenance traveler system.
The traveler system is expected to be completed in 2027. The remaining section of netting is expected to be completed by the end of the year, Cosulich-Schwartz said.
To reach the suicide and crisis hotline, dial 988.
Originally Published: