Story highlights The net will be constructed of stainless steel

(CNN) The Golden Gate Bridge has a problem: horrifyingly high suicide rates. The community has a solution: a net covering the perimeter of the bridge.

It sounds like a simple response to a complex problem, but the barrier is a big task. In May, crews will begin to erect fencing along the approaches and tower legs, but that deterrent is only temporary. From there, workers will take careful measurements to begin installing a net that extends 20 feet out along both sides of the 1.7 mile long bridge.

The installation will begin in 2018 and the Golden Gate Bridge, Transportation and Highway District expects construction to be completed in 2021.

And this isn't your average net. It will be constructed from stainless steel -- light enough to be inconspicuous, but strong enough to save lives.

Since the bridge was built in 1937, nearly 1,700 people have leapt to their deaths from it, according to the Bridge Rail Foundation , a group dedicated to stopping suicides from bridges.

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