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.
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has announced plans to start construction in the summer of 2026 on a long-awaited Coronado Bridge suicide barrier with an estimated completion date of late 2028.
In the last half century, there have been over 400 deaths off the bridge spanning San Diego Bay.
Because of this, in 2022, Caltrans discussed installing a vertical 8-foot-tall stainless steel net on the perimeter of both sides of the bridge. A year later, the project was added to a list of programs at the Office of State Highway Operations and Protection Program.
At a Sept. 16 Coronado City Council meeting, Caltrans officials said a final design and construction contract would be executed with Myers-Traylor, a joint venture between Myers & Sons Construction and Traylor Bros., Inc.
They were brought on through a bidding process with the total estimated project cost being around $140 million, according to Caltrans.
Under the current design, see-through netting would be elevated between 7 ½ feet and 8 ½ feet above the existing concrete bridge rail.
According to Charles Gray, the project manager with Caltrans, Myers & Sons Construction has extensive experience in constructing Caltrans bridges throughout the state, and Traylor Bros., Inc., worked on the Coronado Bridge in 2000.
The construction companies are also partnering with two engineering firms, COWI and TYLin, both of which have designed stainless steel netting – most recently finishing the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in New York with a similar mesh suicide barrier.
Gray said they are using a progressive approach, allowing the suicide deterrent to be designed and built at the same time, which he said would ultimately end up saving time and money.
“I just want to applaud the design-build concept,” Mayor John Duncan said at the council meeting. “I truly believe it’s cut a significant amount of time off of the project, so thank you.”
The two-year time stamp on the project is due mainly to accessibility and seeing how to efficiently construct temporary access to the bridge and install the netting, and the fact that the deterrent will be blocking how the bridge gets regularly inspected and maintained, Gray explained. The construction team will have to build walkways underneath the bridge to allow for future inspections and maintenance.
Gray said most of the construction likely will occur at night so that traffic lanes will be open during the daytime.
