SAN FRANCISCO—On Friday, August 28, after years of delay the Golden Gate Bridge suicide barrier project will cost $23 million.

The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation has to make a decision regarding reserving funding in order to cover their staff and administrative costs to approve the allocation of reserve funding of $2 million for the suicide barrier delay.

Golden Gate Bridge, Highway & Transportation District Public Affairs Manager, Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, sent a statement from Ewa Bauer-Furbush, who is the Chief Engineer at the Golden Gate Bridge that read:

“The contractor building the suicide deterrent net is behind schedule, so we are incurring additional costs for staff time. We’re incredibly disappointed that the project has been delayed and are doing everything we can to move construction forward.

Due to the delays, the contractor will be out working on the Bridge a lot longer than anticipated, which means we are incurring additional District staffing costs on the project. These critical staff ensure the work is being done up to the safety and quality standards we expect on the Golden Gate Bridge. The construction delays were caused through no fault of the District, and we are looking at options for recovering some of the additional cost.”

The Golden Gate Bridge accounts for 30 or more deaths year after year. The net will be assembled below the sidewalk, extending 20 feet from the Golden Gate Bridge. The decision was made through a public process with ideas from the community.

The Suicide Deterrent System Net construction began in 2018 and is expected to be done in 2023.