Capt. Emilio Gonzalez read, aloud, some statistics for 2017. He repeated one: “Sixty-eight saves.”

In the hierarchy of the Port Authority Police Department, Captain Gonzalez is the commanding officer responsible for the George Washington Bridge, whose ceaseless parade of cars and trucks make it one of the world’s busiest. The figure he repeated was for suicide attempts that were blocked by his officers, for the George Washington Bridge, more than most bridges in the New York area, draws people who have decided death is the only option.

A suicide attempt is thwarted at the bridge once nearly every five days.

Fifteen people have jumped to their deaths there in 2017.

Now Captain Gonzalez has a new tool intended to prevent suicides from the bridge, an 11-foot-high fence connected to netting that forms a canopy over the pathway beyond the traffic lanes. Until now, the only barrier along the pathway was a barricade-high railing.

The Port Authority has officers who monitor cameras trained on the pathway and who can dispatch other officers, even a fully equipped emergency unit, if they see someone among the runners and bicyclists who arouses their suspicions. Until now, that meant someone who lingered too close to the railing for too long.