WASHINGTON — If you've recently driven over the Taft Bridge along Connecticut Avenue Northwest in D.C., you may have noticed some temporary barriers going up.

But permanent barriers will eventually be built, thanks to the efforts and advocacy of one former Woodley Park resident.

In April 2022, Chelsea Van Thof lost her longtime partner, Peter Tripp .

"He was kind and generous and funny and dependable," Von Thof said. "He was the best person I ever met and he made me better too. He was a good person almost to a fault, and I don’t think I’m ever going to meet anyone as good as him ever again."

The 29-year-old died by suicide, jumping from the Taft Bridge, just steps away from the couple's home in Woodley Park. Von Thof hasn't been able to go near the bridge since then until she rode th

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