After presenting an updated design of the Aurora Bridge suicide-prevention barrier, the Architect Review Committee favored the fence.

Still, the frame's size for the barrier was still seen as a possible obstruction to the bridge's view and historic nature.

Originally starting out with a six-inch frame and asked previously to minimize the size of the frame the Washington State Department of Transportation presented, then updated it to a width of four inches at last week's meeting.

The frame is designed to hold the vertical steel cables that would help deter jumpers and provide transparency with smaller diameter compared to steel bars for the fence.

The state chose a vertical barrier because it was realized that if the fence were to be horizontal the barrier would become ladder like, giving people a greater opportunity to climb over the fence, Greg Phipps, a spokesperson for the transportation agency, previously told the Ballard News-Tribune.

Another concept that was up for change by the review committee and updated by the department was how far the cables would come down from the top of barrier on the bridge.

The fence's frame is attached to posts that go from the top of the barrier and connect underneath the bridge for stability. The posts are eight to 10-feet apart along the half-mile bridge.

Originally the cables extended from the top of the barrier fence to the top of the bridge's existing outer railing, leaving only the posts to extend from the top of the original railing to the bottom of the bridge said Paul Kinderman, Washington Transportation bridge architect.

After seeing this design the review committee decided that Washington Transportation should extend the cables from the top of the barrier fence to the sidewalk level. This was then incorporated in the most recent design.

However, running up against engineering challenges in being asked to try and create an even smaller frame and using longer cables, the transportation department feels they may have reached their limit in creating a smaller frame, said Phipps.

"The longer you have the cables the more tension you're going to have to provide," he said. "Because of that we have to make sure that if the cables extend further down there still has to be tension there so someone can't pull the cables apart and slide through or give off the appearance that the cables are flimsy."

The cables tension is an issue that the department is trying to ensure to get right. Having a strong frame will allow them to create enough tension in the cables.

Also an additional spreader bar included in the barrier will assist in keeping the cables taut and maintain spreadability. Placed at the height of the existing rail the horizontal piece of metal would have holes in it where the cables will go through. This would restrict how far the cables can be pulled apart.

Planning to refine the barrier design after the comments from the committee the department will be facing a meeting with the landmarks board later this fall. With this meeting they are trying to make sure that they present the board a preferred design that meets the goals of the project and minimizes overall effects of the bridge's historic status.

When asked about last week's suicide and how it may affect the barrier's objective and timeline, Phipps said, "As far as where we're going, the department is committed to move forward with the project. It's unfortunate that it happened again and we're hoping with this project we'll be able to deter these sorts of things in the future."

Allison Espiritu may be reached at 783-1244 or allisone@robinsonnews.com.