Red River residents may see a change in how the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge is protected from suicides after Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham directed the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) to explore alternatives to the $8 million, six‑to‑eight‑foot railing project. The governor told the Taos News that raising the bridge’s railings would alter its historic character, and that netting could be a more viable solution.
According to Taos News, the governor’s directive was announced during a ribbon‑cutting ceremony at Taos Regional Airport on Oct. 29. She explained that the bridge is a historic structure and that “you can still climb up that fence,” but that a net could deter suicides without compromising the bridge’s aesthetic value.
State Transportation Secretary David Quintana confirmed to Help Outreach Taos that NMDOT still intends to pursue the railing design, which would curve inward and measure six to eight feet high. However, the governor’s office emphasized that netting remains under consideration, especially after the 2018 NMDOT engineering study identified a higher vertical railing as the most affordable option but also noted that netting had been successful elsewhere.
The 2018 study proposed a stainless‑steel net extending 15 feet outward from the bridge and hanging about 15 feet below the existing railings, using a four‑inch mesh grid. Governor Lujan Grisham cited the Golden Gate Bridge’s recent net installation, which saw suicides drop from an annual average of 30 to eight in 2024 and four in 2025—a 73 percent decline, according to the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation Project.
Funding for the broader safety effort was outlined at a Legislative Finance Committee hearing on Oct. 22, where capital outlay analyst Cally Carswell presented a $113 million request that could include horizontal netting. NMDOT Communications Director Kristine Bustos‑Mihelcic warned that installing any deterrent might require closing the bridge for up to two years, a scenario District 6 Senator Bobby Gonzales called “a riot‑provoking” prospect.
Despite concerns about a prolonged closure, the governor’s office stressed that preserving the bridge’s historic significance and preventing further loss of life remain top priorities. “We don’t want to lose any more lives and we want that bridge to be as significant as it was,” Lujan Grisham said.
What’s next: NMDOT will continue its engineering study to compare netting and railing options, with a decision expected later this year. The agency plans to hold a public information session in Red River to gather community input before finalizing any design or construction schedule.
Sources: taosnews.com
