The famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, has been adorned with suicide nets to curb people from jumping to their deaths as of Wednesday, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
City officials announced crews have added stainless-steel nets under the edges of both sides of the massive 1.7 mile iconic San Francisco staple, according to The AP.
Suicide-prevention barriers on the Golden Gate Bridge have been completed more than a decade after officials greenlighted a project to install stainless-steel mesh nets on both sides of the 1.7-mile bridge. https://t.co/WKEJci5Pa5
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Since the bridge first opened in 1937, close to 2,000 people have reportedly taken their own lives by jumping off of the Golden Gate. (RELATED: Suicide Rates In America Hit New Record: REPORT)
Final stages of construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. (1937) pic.twitter.com/0uRQjhMWzF
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“We have a continuous physical suicide barrier installed the full length of the 1.7-mile bridge on the east and the west side. The bridge is sealed up,” said Dennis Mulligan, the general manager of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, the outlet reported.
While the nets were only recently completed, the project began in 2018 after being approved in 2014, according to The AP. (RELATED: TERENCE P. JEFFREY: The 7 Wealthiest Counties Are All Suburbs Of DC And San Francisco)
Efforts to build the 20-foot-wide stainless-steel mesh nets began but the crew experienced delays up until only recently, the outlet reported.
The nets reportedly lie 20-feet below the deck of the bridge, and are not easily visible to drivers utilizing the bridge. On the other hand, they are easily seeable to pedestrians looking over the rails on the perimeter, according to the outlet.
Since the net became effective during its finishing stage in 2023, it has reportedly already saved lives from suicide, according to Mulligan.
Some individuals have jumped onto the net and were saved, the general manager said, according to The AP. Others that landed on the net jumped off it to fall to their deaths in the waters below, according to Mulligan, the outlet reported.
USS Enterprise (CVN-65) passing under the Golden Gate Bridge, 1985 pic.twitter.com/AUOJThvFqA
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Those that do fall onto the net will certainly still experience pain, Mulligan said, according to The AP.
“It’s stainless-steel wire rope netting, so it’s like jumping into a cheese grater,” the general manager reportedly said. “It’s not soft. It’s not rubber. It doesn’t stretch.”
“We want folks to know that if you come here, it will hurt if you jump,” Mulligan stressed, The AP reported.