Rio Grande Gorge Bridge near Taos. Courtesy/wikipedia.com

STATE News:

Santa Fe – Gov. Susana Martinez has directed the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) to initiate suicide prevention measures at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge 10 miles northwest of Taos. 

The NMDOT is designing a plan to install 10 telephones at or on the bridge to be answered by the New Mexico Crisis Access Hotline. The design should be done by the end of August and will then be submitted out to bid for approximately 30 days, with construction to begin as soon as possible.

“Installing crisis prevention phones to help anyone considering hurting themselves is a step in the right direction,” Martinez said. “My hope is that connecting those individuals with prevention experts will help them decide that suicide is not the solution to whatever problems they are facing.”

Reports indicate at least 100 jumpers’ bodies have been recovered since 1984.

Studies have shown success rates with installing phones on high bridges in other parts of the country. In particular, the mid-Hudson bridge in upstate New York has had phones connected to a suicide hotline for more than two decades. According to a report on the New York State Bridge Authority’s website, more than 50 people have used the phones and have been persuaded to reconsider their actions.

The NMDOT also will update its 2009 study entitled Rio Grande Gorge Bridge: Evaluation for Potential Suicide-Prevention Apparatus Installation.