Suicide Coronado Bridge – The authorities reported that they had no choice but to close the San Diego-Coronado Bridge for a significant amount of time on Friday evening in order to prevent a person from carrying out their threat to jump from the bridge into San Diego Bay. The initial statement was made by the Coronado Police Department shortly after 4:30 o’clock in the afternoon. It stated that the road would be stopped in both directions due to “police activity,” but the department did not provide any other information at that time.
The authorities did not release any additional information regarding the event despite the fact that the bridge was opened to traffic at 12:59 a.m. on Saturday morning. Caltrans San Diego also disseminated word about the shutdown via Twitter, which was one of their communication channels. Users of the navigation app Waze reported “standstill traffic” after 7 p.m., with speeds of less than 10 mph on stretches of Silver Strand Boulevard, which is the only other way into or out of Coronado while the bridge is blocked. Silver Strand Boulevard is the only alternative route.
According to Waze, there was significant congestion at the entrance points to the boulevard that were located both to the north and to the south. In January, the sum of $14 million was allotted to Caltrans for the purpose of funding the design of a suicide barrier to be installed on the bridge. The first concept for the design is installing a stainless steel net that is between 8 and 10 feet tall on the exterior of the bride railings that are already in place. This would be done as an addition to the current bride railings.
