Workers began erecting 9-foot-high fences Tuesday on Vista Bridge to act as temporary suicide barriers.

and four people have jumped from the bridge this year – the most in any year in a decade. The public nature and increasing numbers of suicides at the bridge prompted the request to put up screens, which was approved by Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick.

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On Tuesday, workers from M.J. Hughes Construction unloaded large iron beams, which will attach to the bottom of the bridge railing. Then 9-foot-high poles will attach to the beams and mesh fencing will attach to the poles. The construction is expected to take three weeks.

The temporary screens, which will cost $236,000, will serve until a permanent screen can be installed when funding is found, Novick said. The estimated cost for permanent barriers is $2.5 million to $3 million. The city will seek federal funding, Novick said.

Not all members of the Goose Hollow Foothills League support the temporary barriers. Nicolas Clark, son of former mayor Bud Clark, was walking on the bridge, Tuesday, and said he'd rather see a different solution.

"We're upset with how the process went," he said. "The city -- Novick -- pretty much never questioned the public process. It's a lovely bridge and (fences are) going to obscure that loveliness to a certain extent."

Before the fence-installation began, volunteers received crisis training and have been patrolling the bridge.

David O'Longaigh, the bureau's supervising bridge engineer, said the fences are designed to last five years. During that time, Novick said he expected federal and private money could be raised to pay for permanent barriers.

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David Stabler