History of Iron pier in Portugalete

The industrialisation of the Basque Country was made possible by two key circumstances: on the one hand, the presence in Meatzaldea of a low phosphor iron ore, which is ideal for making steel using the Bessemer process, and, on the other, the construction of the iron jetty/dyke in Portugalete by engineer Evaristo de Churruca

A bit of history

  • It is often said that the industrialisation of the Basque Country was made possible by two key circumstances: on the one hand, the presence in Meatzaldea of a low phosphor iron ore, which is ideal for making steel using the Bessemer process, and, on the other, the construction of the iron dock/dyke in Portugalete by engineer Evaristo de Churruca.

  • At the end of the 19th century, river traffic on the Ibaizabal-Nervión estuary rose spectacularly, due to the continuous transit of ships transporting iron ore. The recently created Port Works Board had to deal with a significant problem at the mouth of the estuary: sand was accumulating and creating the so-called ‘Portugalete bar’ and reducing the depth by at least one metre during low tide, which often caused ships to run aground.

  • A lack of funding sharpened the creativity of the engineer in charge of port works, Evaristo de Churruca, who created a solution that continues to astonish: the iron jetty.

  • Inaugurated in 1887, it is 567.50 metres long. Its metal structure was built by La Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima in Barcelona, and it was the first work to use Mitchell screw piles, a solution that allowed foundations to be laid on sandy soil. Earning Churruca international acclaim, the work allowed the channel to be consistently 80 metres wide, increasing the depth up to more than 4.5 metres during low tide.