Suicide-prevention fence now on Seattle’s Aurora bridge

SEATTLE — Workers have completed a suicide-prevention fence on Seattle’s Aurora Bridge.

A fence nearly 9-feet tall was installed along the railing on both sides of the bridge in a Washington Transportation Department project costing $5 million.

Since the bridge opened in 1932, at least 230 people have jumped from the span. It carries an Aurora Avenue section of Highway 99 over the Lake Washington Ship Canal, 167 feet above the water.

The department said work will start this spring on a separate $9.3 million project to strengthen bridge support columns, girders and trusses.

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