Particle.news
Download on the App Store

New Mexico Closes Rio Grande Gorge Bridge to Pedestrians After Suicide Surge

State officials are pursuing an updated engineering review to enable permanent barriers.

Overview

  • Taos County authorities ordered an indefinite pedestrian shutdown after recovering a 15-year-old boy, the sixth suicide at the bridge in 2025.
  • Officials report three deaths in roughly the past three weeks, with the sheriff calling this year’s toll a record for the span.
  • Transportation Secretary Rick Serna is seeking an updated assessment of a 2018 study to determine how fencing or nets could be installed.
  • NMDOT says crisis call boxes at the bridge were upgraded this year and security staffing has been boosted to three guards during the review period.
  • Suicide-prevention leaders and public-health experts urge physical barriers and investigation of a possible point cluster, noting sharp declines where nets were added at the Golden Gate and Sunshine Skyway bridges.