By Andrew Hay
TAOS, New Mexico (Reuters) -A rash of suicides at New Mexico’s Rio Grande Gorge Bridge forced authorities to close the span to pedestrians on Monday, as officials look for a way to install fencing or nets to stop people from taking their own lives at the landmark.
Three people have jumped off the span to their deaths in the past three weeks, authorities said, contributing to a record number of deaths at the bridge so far this year.
Taos County Sheriff’s Office announced the indefinite closure after deputies descended into the 600-foot-deep (183-meter) gorge on Sunday to recover the remains of a local 15-year-old boy, the sixth person to die by suicide at the bridge in 2025.
On September 5, a 60-year-old U.S. Army veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder drove 15 hours from San Antonio, Texas, to take his life at the bridge, the sheriff’s office reported.
Three days earlier, sheriff’s deputies closed the bridge to recover the remains of a man from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The 1,280-foot (390-meter) steel-arch bridge five miles northwest of Taos has featured in movies and ads since its construction 50 years ago. It not only attracts tourists from across the world but has become a destination for people who wish to end their lives. The 600-foot fall is not survivable.
“The closure of the bridge to pedestrian traffic is a start,” Sheriff Steve Miera said in a text message, adding that bridge suicides this year were at a record level. He said the bridge would reopen to pedestrians once the state can install effective barriers to prevent suicides.
TOO EASY FOR PEOPLE TO KILL THEMSELVES
Suicide prevention campaigner Ashley Roessler said safety barriers had to go up to replace an existing railing that is four feet (1.2 m) high and simple to climb over.
“We’re making it too damn easy for people to kill themselves,” said Roessler, founder of the New Mexico Fight for Life Foundation. “If you can just jolt someone, or make it harder, maybe that kid wouldn’t have killed himself.”
Other bridges and buildings in the United States where suicides are common have put up nets or barriers.
A net along both sides of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco reduced suicides by 73% in 2024 during its first year, cutting the number of deaths to eight from an average 30 a year, according to authorities.
Suicides at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa, Florida, have dropped to an average of three per year from 12 to 15 after an 11-foot-tall vertical net was installed in 2021.
Crisis call boxes have been installed along the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, and they were upgraded earlier this year, the New Mexico Department of Transportation said in its statement.
A 2018 study of the bridge determined the structure would have to be reinforced to support the weight of nets and fencing, according to press reports.
New Mexico Transportation Secretary Rick Serna said he was working with the consultant on the 2018 study to get an updated evaluation. Until then, the number of security guards at the bridge has been increased to three from two, his department said in a statement.
(Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Editing by Frank McGurty and Bill Berkrot)
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