The Taft Bridge along Connecticut Avenue Northwest has been the site of multiple suicides. D.C.’s Department of Transportation has now installed temporary pedestrian fencing on the bridge, as part of a project to increase safety and prevent suicide attempts.
Chelsea Van Thof’s partner, Peter Tripp, died by suicide on the Taft Bridge in 2022. The veterinarians were living in Woodley Park at the time.
“He was gentle and kind,” she said. “He was just always looking to help others.”
Van Thof said she used advocacy as a coping mechanism while she grieved. She poured herself into efforts to get protective barriers installed on the bridge and believes the barriers would have saved Tripp’s life.
“For me, it was like, if I don’t do this, no one’s going to do this, and more people will die,” she said. “And I can’t let that happen.”
Between Jan. 1, 2010 and Jan. 1, 2022, there were 26 bridge-related deaths in D.C., and half happened on the Taft Bridge. Van Thof said it’s a huge relief to see the temporary fencing up now.
“I didn’t want anyone to experience the same kind of pain and heartache that me and Peter’s loved ones and friends and family have experienced since losing him,” she said.
Construction of the permanent barriers is set to be completed by fall 2026.
Van Thof recently moved to Vermont but will return to D.C. when the barriers are finished. She hopes others who have lost loved ones on the bridge will join her, and she’s proud to help “change the history of the bridge.”
“Peter deserved to be honored in this way by having this be his legacy,” she said. “I really feel like it’s my responsibility to continue doing the good that he would have gotten done had he lived.”
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
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