SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A long talked-about suicide barrier is being installed on the Golden Gate Bridge.
KGO-TV reports that local officials gathered Thursday at the orange-redspan to mark the beginning of work to line both sides of the bridge with steel netting.
Families of suicide victims have long urged bridge authorities for some kind of barrier to prevent deaths.
It will cost more than $200 million to install the stainless steel netting. Bridge officials say the project will be completed by 2021.
More than 1,400 people have jumped to their deaths since the bridge opened in 1937.
Most jumpers suffer massive internal injuries, broken bones and skull fractures. Some die from internal bleeding while others drown.