MTA awards contract for Verrazzano suicide-prevention fencing Updated Mar 17, 2021; Posted Mar 17, 2021 The MTA has approved a $32.8 million contract to install permanent suicide-prevention fencing on the entirety of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, expected to be completed within two years. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel) Facebook Share STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After years of advocacy from local elected officials, the MTA has officially moved forward with plans to install permanent suicide-prevention fencing on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. On Wednesday, the MTA Board voted to approve a $32.8 million contract to El Sol Contracting/Dewberry Engineering to install safety fencing along the entire span of the bridge’s upper and lower levels.