History of the bridges of Bilbao

It’s impossible to imagine the Nervión-Ibaizabal estuary without its bridges. 
Today, 14 bridges cross the estuary and another three are slated to open in the coming years.

Go to content

A bit of history

  • It’s impossible to imagine the Nervión-Ibaizabal estuary without its bridges. Not in vain, the coat of arms of Bilbao bears the founding bridge, the San Antón bridge, the only point connecting the two banks of the Bilbao estuary for centuries, although the location of this bridge in the coat of arms is from the 15th century. The current one was inaugurated in 1938.

  • Around Bilbao, you’ll hear talk of the “right bank” and the “left bank”, a decisively clear way to classify the origins, either proudly or otherwise, of the city’s natives. To connect both sides, rowboats, then motorboats, and bridges have been and continue to be essential.

  • Nevertheless, the history of the bridges on the estuary was not exempt from difficulties, as the need to let sea and port traffic flow meant that there weren't many bridges over the centuries and that the ones that were built were always bascule bridges, meaning they opened so as not to hinder river traffic. There are currently 14 bridges crossing the estuary with the San Ignacio bridge to Zorrotzaurre to be inaugurated and the pedestrian bridge from Barakaldo to Erandio and the bridge taking the tram from Olabeaga to Zorrotzaurre slated to begin work.

    It’s hard to focus on just one. In any case, from a heritage perspective, the most significant are the ones described below.

  • Downriver from the San Antón bridge is the Ribera bridge, from 1938, although there were many bridges in this location before the current one. Perhaps the most popular is the one that was there from 1827 to 1852, a bridge suspended by iron chains, the old suspension bridge referred to in the folk song (and not the Vizcaya Bridge between Portugalete and Getxo): “There is no suspension bridge more elegant than the one in Bilbao, because the bilbainitos made it and they're very fine and very charming”.

  • The Arenal bridge has also been historically strategic, and with good reason; it was here where the first bridge connecting the historical town of Bilbao with the “new Bilbao”, its expansion, was located. This first bridge was inaugurated in 1845 and christened with the name Isabel II. It was made of cast iron from the nearby Santa Ana de Bouleta factory and it is the first of this type (metal) built in Spain. Although it may be hard to believe, one of the arches that was part of the bridge has been preserved and is currently on a bridge at the mouth of the Udondo and Gobela rivers in Leioa. It is known as the Udondo bridge.

  • The City Hall bridge was inaugurated in 1934 after being destroyed in the Spanish Civil War. The current bridge was commissioned of engineers Ignacio Rotaeche and José Ortiz de Artiñano and was reinaugurated in 1939. In 1969, it stopped being a drawbridge and was permanently sealed to stop it from opening.

    This bridge formerly coexisted with a private iron walkway, that is no longer standing, just a few metres from the current bridge. With a toll to cross it, this walkway, whose name was Revolving Iron Walkway, was known as Perrochico, because the toll was five cents and that is how the five cent coin was commonly referred to.

  • The La Salve bridge, a work by engineer Juan Batanero, was inaugurated in 1972. It was the first cable-stayed bridge in all of Spain and it is one of the few with an iron cover. The cables are anchored in two 60 m-tall supports and they support the 270 m long cover. When ships reached the bridge, it was the first time they could make out the Begoña Basilica, an emblematic, beloved place in town. This is when the sailors would sing a hail Our Lady of Begoña.

  • The Deusto bridge by engineers Ignacio Rotaeche and José Ortiz de Artiñano and overseen by municipal architect Ricardo Bastida was designed as a drawbridge to allow river traffic to flow. Building was completed in 1936 and it was destroyed in the Spanish Civil War. The bridge was rebuilt and reinaugurated in 1939. Including the viaducts, it is 500 m long, and it was restored in 2008, although it has not been reopened. The bridge can be accessed from the Churruca jetty, via lift and stairs, and from the other side of the river, on Ribera de Botica Vieja there is a set of stairs to get onto the bridge.