Because of the number of suicides that have taken place on the Victory Bridge spanning the Raritan River, the wife of one jumper is asking the state to install chain link suicide fences on all 3 bridges that span the river.

Margaret Luciano of Bridgewater wrote an email to state officials and Sen. Joe Vitale Monday night, saying that the number of suicides will increase, not just at the Driscoll Bridge, where her husband Peter took his own life in 2012, but at the Edison and Victory Bridge as well.

Work has already begun to install a fence along the rails of the Victory Bridge – and will begin soon at the Edison Bridge.

However, the Driscoll is maintained by the Turnpike Authority, which, at the moment has no plans to erect such a fence.

She said she hopes state officials will find the funding to install fences on bridges where suicides have occurred saying:

“I know exactly what a suicide does to families,” she wrote. “Two years ago my husband jumped off the Driscoll Bridge, leaving me to deal with the aftermath of such a tragedy. I have two sons that I now raise alone.”

Here’s the problem.

It’s going to take a lot of fencing to prevent suicides from taking place at bridges. One need look no further than the George Washington Bridge to find out the number of people who’ve jumped from there.

And I’m sure there are plenty of other bridges. Just as there are plenty of railroad crossings that have seen a good number of suicide victims.

Preventing suicides isn’t going to happen with fencing alone. It will take better mental health screening.

How that will be addressed is another matter.

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