If you are having thoughts of suicide, or are concerned that someone you know may be, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
A $140 million steel net will be installed along the edges of the Coronado Bridge beginning next year under a construction project recently approved by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
The iconic, curved span is recognized as the bridge with the second highest number of suicides in the nation, after the Golden Gate Bridge, according to Caltrans. It’s been in use for more than half a century now, and there has only been one physical suicide deterrent since 1969 when it opened to the public.
In 2019, four-inch spikes were installed on the guardrails of the Coronado Bridge to deter jumpers. That year, fifteen people committed suicide.
An estimated 550 people have died from jumping off the iconic curved bridge since its opening, according to an article from Fox. The San Diego County medical examiner’s office has reported a total of 276 individuals since 1997. Six individuals jumped each year in 2023 and 2024, and so far in 2025, three people have committed suicide off the bridge.
For comparison, the Golden Gate Bridge has had over 2,000 confirmed jumper deaths since its opening in 1937.
From its apex down to the water, the Northern Californian bridge is 20 feet higher than the Coronado Bridge, at a clearance of about 220 feet.
Because the Coronado Bridge currently does not have a suicide prevention deterrent, there are frequent bridge closures when people leave their cars parked on the highway.
Bridge closures require a 23-mile detour through the Silver Strand, creating around 30-60 minutes of extra travel time for those that live and work on the island.
Project in the works
In February 2022, a public meeting was held by Caltrans to discuss a deterrent project that would include a vertical 8- to 10-foot-tall stainless-steel net on the perimeter of both sides of the bridge.
In January of 2023, the project was added to the Office of State Highway Operations and Protection Program and Caltrans announced it would be allocating funds for the design of a deterrent. The project was estimated to cost around $140 million.
Two years later, in January of this year, Caltrans hired the construction company Myers and Traylor, a joint venture between Myers & Sons Construction and Traylor Bros., Inc, to begin work in 2026.
Caltrans said they are using a progressive approach to this project, allowing the deterrent to be designed and built at the same time, which would ultimately end up saving time and money.
There isn’t a timeline for completion yet but the hiring of a contractor marked a significant step forward in getting the deterrent in place, and Caltrans is working to get the deterrent in place as quickly as possible, the transportation department noted.
Construction has not started yet. At a recent City Council meeting, Coronado Mayor John Duncan, who sits on a Caltrans subcommittee, said that the barrier project is “100% moving forward … in a way that it has never moved forward before.”
