The Golden Gate Bridge may soon feature a suicide barrier funded in part by federal transportation dollars.
Members of the bridge board last week requested $11 million from the California Legislature for the $66 million project, the Contra Costa Times reports.
The report also notes that lobbyists from the bridge board returned to California from Washington D.C. earlier this month with high hopes that Congress could allocate $44 million in federal transportation funds for the project.
San Francisco board member Janet Reilly told the Contra Costa Times that the project “was ineligible for any federal funds whatsoever” two years ago. However, a transportation bill that Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) pushed was passed in 2012 and contained phrasing that allows funds to be used for items such as safety rails and nets on bridges.
The Golden Gate Bridge plan includes a stainless steel cable net that extends that extends 20 feet below and 20 feet from the side of the bridge and would collapse slightly if someone jumped in it. It would also include a “snooper” truck that has an elongated arm to help people get out of the net. The net, which is expected to deter people from jumping, would take three years to build.
