The California Coastal Commission has approved a suicide deterrent system for the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge, clearing a significant regulatory hurdle for a project that has been in the works for nearly a decade.
The commission voted June 10 to approve a permit authorizing the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to install an 8-foot-high wire mesh barrier atop the bridge’s existing 34-inch concrete guardrails. The barrier will run the full length of the 2.12-mile bridge.
Construction is scheduled to begin in October and is expected to take about two years. At least one lane will be available for travel in each direction during construction.
The bridge has seen approximately 400 deaths by suicide since its 1969 opening, making it the second most frequently used bridge for suicide attempts in the United States, behind only the Golden Gate Bridge.
A horizontal net designed to prevent suicide attempts was completed on the Golden Gate Bridge in early 2024. Since then, bridge suicides have been nearly eliminated.
In Coronado, 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 prevented the problem.
The barrier will be 87 percent transparent in effort to preserve the look of one of San Diego’s most recognizable landmarks. A staff report found the the chosen design is “the least visually intrusive of the analyzed vertical alternatives.” The design, staff concluded, “preserves the bridge’s overall form and historic appearance,” with bay and skyline views expected to “remain largely intact for travelers, with moderate localized changes to immediate views from the roadway.”
The commission still required compensatory mitigation for unavoidable visual impacts. On the San Diego side, Caltrans agreed to fund new murals on four bridge columns in the historic Barrio Logan neighborhood, in partnership with community groups including the Chicano Park Steering Committee. On the Coronado side, an existing 8-foot chain-link and barbed wire fence along the Bayshore Bikeway will be replaced with a lower 3.5- to 4-foot fence to open up bay views for cyclists and pedestrians.
Why not a net?
Commissioners also rejected an alternative under-bridge horizontal net design — similar to the system installed at the Golden Gate Bridge — citing formal objections from the City of San Diego’s Fire-Rescue and Police departments. A below-deck net would not prevent attempts, officials argued, and rescuing individuals from a net at that height would still require full bridge closures, endanger first responders, and demand significantly more personnel resources.
The bridge’s position between Naval installations in San Diego and Coronado added further weight to that argument. As part of the National Strategic Highway Network, extended closures carry implications beyond rush hour traffic.
What’s next
The project also includes 20 new closed-circuit cameras, upgraded traffic monitoring equipment, and expanded maintenance walkways beneath the bridge deck. Construction will be conducted during nighttime hours, with at least one lane open in each direction at all times.
Caltrans must satisfy several conditions before breaking ground, including submitting revised final plans, a Visual Mitigation Plan, a Nesting Bird Monitoring and Avoidance Plan, and a Construction Plan — each requiring review and written approval from the commission’s executive director.
If you or someone you know needs help, call the 24-hour Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.
