University of Wisconsin Police successfully prevented a 31-year-old man from jumping off the pedestrian footbridge connecting the Humanities building and Vilas Hall Sunday night.

The man, who is not affiliated with the university and is not a City of Madison resident, threatened to commit suicide from the bridge, according to police reports.

Police received a report shortly before 8 p.m. in regard to a man standing on the railing of the footbridge over University Avenue. After speaking with the man for more than an hour, two UWPD officers and a detective negotiated with him to come back over the railing to safety.

The man was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, according to a police release.

Police say the man was despondent over a failed relationship and it remains unclear why he chose the UW campus in his attempt.

"We get [suicides] occasionally, it doesn't happen everyday, but it does happen," Sgt. Joey Skenandore of the Madison Police Department said.

The MPD along with the UWPD rerouted vehicular traffic along University Avenue between North Lake and Park Streets for about one hour until the man was taken to safety.

"[Police] did some additional [traffic direction]," Kim Beecraft, UWPD spokesperson said.

Police reroute traffic in these situations to allow the negotiations to continue uninterrupted.

"We try to reroute [traffic], keep the area clear for the agency that is trying to conduct the negotiations," Skenandore said.

In most cases, he added, the police try to reroute traffic onto main thoroughfare streets to prevent further traffic issues.