The San Diego-Coronado Bridge will get an 8-foot suicide barrier starting in October, a two-year construction project on the span that carries more than 70,000 vehicles daily between San Diego and Coronado.

The California Transportation Commission unanimously approved $162 million for the barrier, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Wednesday, Aug. 26. The contract went to Myers and Traylor Joint Venture, a partnership between Myers & Sons Construction and Traylor Bros. Inc., according to the Coronado Eagle & Journal.

The mesh-steel barrier will be erected on both outer edges of the 57-year-old bridge. Most construction will take place at night. Caltrans ranks the bridge No. 2 in the nation for suicide attempts, behind only the Golden Gate Bridge.

Wayne Strickland, a retired Coronado Fire Department firefighter who has advocated for the barrier for decades, told the Eagle & Journal in July: "It's really going to happen, and it is really going to save lives."

Fewer suicide attempts would also mean fewer lengthy bridge closures. When the bridge shuts down, drivers face a 23-mile detour through Imperial Beach and up the Silver Strand to reach Coronado.

Seismic retrofit estimated at $350M–$450M

Separately, Caltrans is planning a seismic and ship-collision retrofit of the bridge's underwater supports, estimated at $350 million to $450 million.

The bridge's 22 piers were seismically retrofitted from the water upward in 2002, but the underwater infrastructure has not been upgraded since the bridge opened in 1969. Allan Kosup, chief deputy director of Caltrans District 11, told the Union-Tribune that 499 aging piles supporting the piers have micro-cracks caused by decades of salt water exposure.

Caltrans plans to weave new micropiles between the existing piles and add new fenders to make piers more resilient to ship collisions. The 2024 cargo ship collision that caused a partial collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge prompted heightened concern.

Kosup told the California Transportation Commission that Navy ships have gotten larger since the bridge opened and that existing fenders may not adequately protect bridge columns from impact. Charles Bradshaw, community plans and liaison officer at Naval Base Coronado, said the retrofit designs preserve safe passage for ships beneath the bridge.

Timeline and funding

Caltrans has spent roughly $11 million on retrofit planning so far. The agency expects to release a draft environmental study in early 2027 and plans to ask the Transportation Commission for about $40 million in 2028 or 2029 to finalize designs. Construction funding would be requested in the early 2030s.

Caltrans plans to update the Coronado Rotary in October about the barrier project.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.