Caltrans is moving forward with temporary suicide deterrents on the San Diego-Coronado Bridge. This comes after a year of researching different types of barriers.
While Caltrans said a permanent barrier for the bridge is five to 10 years away, they are hoping installing new bird spikes will help deter suicides.
"Our goal is within the next year to have a version of those bird spikes placed along the length of the entire bridge," said Caltrans District 11 spokesman Edward Cartagena.
Caltrans said the Coronado bridge is the second most-used bridge for suicides in the United States. The bird spikes idea came after holding open houses with the surrounding community. The spikes are expected to cost anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000.
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"As a physical barrier — visual as well as tactile," Cartagena said, "we feel it would be a good interim in advance of the ultimate project."
The "ultimate project" could mean installing permanent barriers that also keep the bridge visually appealing.
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"The bridge itself is almost 50 years old," Cartagena said. "And it’s iconic to our skyline in San Diego. So that will also be taken into account. So whether it’s something solid, semisolid, in terms of fencing or netting."
Caltrans said they are in the process of securing funding for the bird spikes.
