The final design for a suicide barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge was approved Friday by the district Board of Directors, moving the project closer to reality.

“This represents another important step to advance the Golden Gate Bridge suicide deterrent project into construction,” said Ewa Bauer, the bridge district’s chief engineer.

The bridge district’s $76 million suicide barrier plan calls for a net extending 20 feet below and 20 feet from the side of the span, although it will have to be modified in certain areas because of surrounding terrain. The net would be made of stainless steel cable and would collapse slightly if someone jumped in, making it difficult to get out, bridge officials said. It would take up to three years to build; a construction contract is expected to go out to bid in March.

The net design will allow for moveable scaffolding called “travelers” to move around the bridge for maintenance of the span. The current setup would be in conflict with the suicide net.

“It will require removal and replacement of this system,” Bauer said.

While people could still jump into the net, such occurrences might be rare because the net would act as a deterrent. A similar net was placed more than a decade ago on the Munster Terrace cathedral in Bern, Switzerland, and since then no suicide attempts have been reported.

Still, if someone were to jump, the district needs a plan. Initially it was thought two “snooper” trucks with elongated arms would be purchased to scoop up anyone who ended up in the nets.

But Southern Marin fire officials stepped forward to offer their assistance and the truck plan was nixed.

To help the fire department train for net rescues, the bridge district will spend $65,000 to construct replica netting at the fire department’s training ground in Strawberry. Equipment for the actual rescues could be kept at the bridge.

Caltrans will contribute $22 million to the overall project, the state $7 million from Mental Health Services Act funds and the Golden Gate Bridge district $20 million in addition to $27 million from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Discussion of a barrier began in the 1950s, but the first intensive look at a solution took place in the early 1970s, when 18 design concepts were evaluated, then shelved.

Between 1997 and 1999, the district’s Building and Operations Committee requested another review of all of the original 18 designs brought forward during the studies in the 1970s, along with preliminary analysis of a “Z-Clip” concept. Officials determined that the “Z-Clip” design was not foolproof and was a bad aesthetic fit for the span, and it was abandoned.

After emotional testimony before the bridge board in 2005, several agencies — including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission — contributed funding for the suicide barrier study.

Roughly two dozen people jump from the span each year, and more than 1,500 people have jumped from the span since it opened in 1937. Another 80 or so people who are contemplating suicide are pulled off the bridge every year.

“This has been a long time coming,” Judy Arnold, bridge board member and Marin supervisor, said of the design approval. “We were delighted to pass this and to get it going to start helping saving lives.” —— (c)2014 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) Visit The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) at www.marinij.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC AMX-2014-12-19T23:18:00-05:00