National Park Service rangers held a gathering at the Natchez Trace Bridge in Williamson County to unveil call boxes.

 

 

According to Chief Ranger Sarah Davis after years of planning 2 call boxes that are meant to help prevent suicide have been installed, and are fully operational on each end of the Natchez Trace Bridge.

Chief Ranger Davis also spoke on the importance of the call boxes by stating, "suicide is the second leading cause of death in National Parks, behind motor vehicle accidents."

The call boxes were specifically designed for parkway railings by the Natchez Trace Parkway’s supervising park ranger for Tennessee and Alabama, Daniel Kimes, where the boxes are perched atop the railings being powered by solar panels, and when the call button is pressed a blue light on top will illuminate where it will contact the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office along with the statewide crisis line.

The National Park Service also announced that $1.25 million will be going towards designing a barrier solution to prevent more deaths, and If a design can be approved then the construction for the barrier could possibly begin in 2023.

Photo Credit: Williamson Herald.