Rio Grande Gorge Bridge closed to pedestrians after recent suicides
By Jason McNabb
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TAOS, New Mexico (KOAT) — The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge near Taos, New Mexico, has been closed to pedestrian traffic after a recent surge in suicides, including the death of a 15-year-old boy on Sunday, prompting the New Mexico Department of Transportation to seek a viable solution.
Since the 1960s, the bridge has been a popular spot for tourists and sightseers seeking breathtaking views of the river and canyon below. However, a sign now greets visitors, stating, “Do not stop on the bridge,” and “No walking allowed.” Six people have died by suicide at the bridge in 2025, with half of those occurring in the last three weeks.
Taos County Sheriff Steve Miera previously commented on the situation, saying, “Unfortunately, you have people from all over the state, from all over the country come to jump off this bridge.”
Clarie Miller, the lead coordinator of suicide prevention for the state’s Department of Health, supports the move to close the bridge and hopes it leads to a permanent barrier.
“We know, as recommended by American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, that barriers are the best thing when it comes to bridges. You can look at different states across the country and know that our call boxes were a first step,” Miller said.
However, some visitors expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of a barrier. One visitor remarked, “It’s just going to lead to more fatalities, illness and injuries. It’s going to be decrepit to walk through for our tourists and our local community to look through.”
Dr. Jagdish Khubchandani, a public health professor at New Mexico State University, noted the unusual nature of the suicides at the bridge.
“This seems like an emerging copycat kind of suicides where we are looking at possibly a point cluster where a number suicides happen. In a short period of time in a particular space. So this has to be investigated as per the guidelines of CDC and other professional organizations,” he said.
Khubchandani emphasized the rarity of jumpers among the 45,000 suicides annually and the need for mitigation at the bridge, a sentiment echoed by Miller.
“It can be done. We need to do more studies. There was one done in 2018 that the Department of Transportation has on hand and they’re going to be reviewing that to see what we can do. This is one of the last few swing bridges so it is reasonable that significant modifications are going to take a lot of adjustment,” Miller said.
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