A full, taller barrier is going up on both sides of a Halifax bridge to prevent people from jumping to their deaths.

The Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission will put out a tender next month to start work on the job.

Currently, steel barriers exist only on the Halifax side of the Macdonald Bridge, above property owned by the Department of National Defence. Once complete, the barrier will run the full length of the bridge. It will add more than a metre of height to the railing.

"We're pleased to advise that we are able to do it. They said that we can put the additional loading on there and the bridge would be perfectly safe," Steve Snider, commission general manager and CEO, told CBC News.

Until now, the commission has maintained that the structure could not handle an extended barrier.

"We didn't have these computer models back in 1999 when we were adding the third lane. Now we have it, and I'm very confident, as are our engineers. My trust is in them," Snider said.

Brian and Carol Cashen have been lobbying for the suicide barrier since their son, Adam, jumped off the bridge on a sunny day nearly two years ago.

"It's sad to say that if it was up, my son may still be here," said Brian Cashen.

"I think that it's going to take a venue away," he added. "Sure, you're not going to stop someone from finding a way, but this is one very accessible way."

Snider estimates the project will cost the commission more than $500,000. The new barrier is expected to go up on the pedestrian walkway this year, and the side with the bicycle lane in 2010.

Carol Cashen said Adam would be pleased.

"I know he's been watching us through the whole thing and he's been with me and pushing me to do this. So I know he's happy up there," she said.