By Katy Savage, Standard Staff
The Agency of Transportation presented a couple of ideas — safety nets and railings — to prevent suicides at the Quechee Gorge in a public meeting last week.
Safety nets could be installed 15 feet down from the top of the bridge and out 15 feet, according to the AOT, which was tasked with coming up with solutions following a law passed earlier this year. The nets would have lighting and motion sensors so emergency personnel would be alerted if someone jumped in the dark. The nets’ holes would be wide enough allow snow to pass through but small enough to catch people. They could be folded up for maintenance.
The railings would be six inches apart extending up from the bridge, officials said.
AOT hired DuBois & King for $35,000 to study solutions to the bridge. In addition to the safety net and railing, the engineering company looked at a chain-link fence, steelmesh fence and Plexiglas. DuBois & King determined that a safety net or railings made most sense for the weather, the bridge’s historic nature and aesthetics.
Either way, when you peer over, “It’s not going to be the same view you have today by any means,” said DuBois & King engineer Lucy Gibson.
The Quechee Gorge is one of the most popular parks for tourists in the state, with more than 100,000 visits per year.
There have been 15 suicides at the gorge since data started being collected in 2003. There have been two deaths by suicides in 2016 so far.
Any improvements will depend how much AOT prioritizes the bridge in its budget, which is in question.
AOT’s priority for the bridge was questioned in mid-July when Holly Blackie, 51, died by suicide at the gorge. Suicide prevention measures that were supposed to be installed by July 1 weren’t there.
Act 158, which became law last spring, tasked the AOT with completing a project at the Quechee Gorge Bridge “on or before” July 1 “or as soon as practicable thereafter.”
As of November, there are still no safety devices.
AOT Planner Jackie Cassino said an idea to install “hope holders,” bird house-like boxes with crisis information inside were “put on the back burner after a lot of meetings and conversations.”
She said the agency spoke with the mental health community and suicide survivors and decided against placing boxes of crisis information contacts at the gorge.
“Is this the best place for us to be spending our energy and money right now?” she said the agency questioned. “If we were to put out something like this untested, would it work? Would it make things worse?”
She guessed the cost of the hope holders to be $250 each. She said the agency would support private groups installing the hope holders in the state’s right of way.
Cassino didn’t know how much of a priority the bridge would be in the transportation budget.
“It is new territory for us,” she said.
The state has a lengthy set of criteria for prioritizing bridges and road projects. It analyzes bridge inspection reports, functionality of projects, determined by each regional planning commission and the number of crashes.
There has been at least one death by suicide a year at the gorge since 2003. Most are between 21-30 years of age and most are male. The majority of suicides happen between May and September, when tourist season is at its highest. About half are during the day.
The AOT considers five deaths in five years at any location a “highcrash location” worthy of its attention. Cassino didn’t know why the bridge wasn’t prioritized in the past.
“This falls outside of what we would typically look at,” she said.
AOT was apprehensive about any fixes to a 2014 bill that required the AOT to make bridge improvements (the bill stalled in the house).
“The countermeasures are costly,” AOT Deputy Secretary Richard Tetreault told the Vermont Standard in 2014. “We have concerns on how well they perform as well as the hazards installing and maintaining them.”
And, “You’ve got to consider the aesthetics of that viewscape as well,” Tetreault said.
AOT has made some efforts. There are plans to install call boxes Nov. 25 for those in crisis to call for help. The blue, solar-powered boxes will be placed on each side of the bridge. The cost of them is more than $19,000.
Cassino said the delay past the July 1 deadline was caused by manufacture and research time.
“I received authorization from my superiors to move forward with the communication devices in August. At that point, I had to follow the state-required simplified bid process to begin the contract process,” Cassino said. “Once the appropriate vendor was approved (late September) we were able to get under contract. Some reworking of the solar powering cells had to be completed — which added to the design and fabrication time.”
Rep. Teo Zagar of Barnard and Rep. John Bartholomew of Hartland were among the sponsors of Act 158.
“I think it was ignored for too long,” said Bartholomew.
Zagar, who didn’t run again for his seat in the legislature this year, said the pace doesn’t concern him.
“Obviously everyone who’s interested in this wants them to move faster, but the reality is government institutions move at their own pace — it’s not a criticism, just a reality,” he said.
He’s more concerned about infrastructure improvements.
“I’m glad they’re considering real infrastructure improvements,” said Zagar, who wasn’t at the meeting. “As long as they deliver those recommendations in the timeframe specified in the bill I’ll be satisfied with that.”
The AOT’s final report on bridge recommendations is due to the legislature Dec. 23. The railings are going to be “a big change from what’s there today,” said DuBois & King’s Lucy Gibson on Wednesday.
Railings would be the most visible. Railings would also be more costly. She didn’t have estimates, but guessed any change would cost $1-$5 million.
Newly elected Sen. Alison Clarkson said improvements to the bridge could move swiftly if AOT makes the bridge a priority in its budget.
“There’s no need to wait. It could be next year,” she said last Wednesday. “AOT has an opportunity to make this a priority now in your budget.”
This article first appeared in the November 23, 2016 edition of the Vermont Standard.