The City Hall Bridge (; ), formerly known as the Begoña Bridge (), is a

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

on the

estuary of Bilbao The Estuary of Bilbao ( Spanish: ''Ría de Bilbao'' / Basque: ''Bilboko Itsasadarra'') lies at the common mouth of the rivers Nervion, Ibaizabal and Cadagua, which drain most of Biscay and part of Alava in the Basque Country, Spain. In this i ...

, connecting the districts of on the right and

Abando Abando, formerly known as ''San Vicente de Abando'', is one of the eight districts of Bilbao, Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country (Spain). It covers most of the city's centre, located on the left bank of the estuary of Bilbao. I ...

on the left.

History

At the end of the 1920s, Bilbao expanded from the estuary and the Begoña Bridge was built to connect the city center with the

Bilbao City Hall The Bilbao City Hall () is the seat of the Bilbao City Council, the local ''ayuntamiento'' of Bilbao, Spain. The City Hall is located on the right bank of the Estuary of Bilbao across the Puente del Ayuntamiento bascule bridge that links it to t ...

and the recently incorporated Begoña district. The city decided to build a drawbridge so that commercial ships from the port could pass. In 1926, the mayor of Bilbao, Federico Moyúa, sent architect

Ricardo Bastida Ricardo Bastida (15 August 1879 in Bilbao, Spain – 15 October 1953) was a Basque architect who was instrumental behind many important buildings in Bilbao and Madrid. In 1923 he proposed a plan of extension of Bilbao to the mouth of Abra, a ...

(1879-1953) to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to study drawbridges. Cantilever bridges were popular at the time. In Chicago, Bastida took inspiration from the

Michigan Avenue Bridge The DuSable Bridge (formerly the Michigan Avenue Bridge) is a bascule bridge that carries Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue across the main stem of the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. The bridge was proposed ...

, which was built in 1920. Back home, Bastida tasked the engineers Ignacio Rotaetxe and José Ortiz de Artiñano with the construction of the bridge. The bridge that connected and was initially called the Begoña Bridge. Designed in 1929, its construction began in October 1933 and was carried out by the

Euskalduna Euskalduna de Construcción y Reparación de Buques de Bilbao (shortened to Euskalduna) was a Basques, Basque engineering company specialising in ship construction, firearms, locomotives, and automobiles. The company was based in Bilbao, Spain and ...

and

Babcock & Wilcox Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. is an American energy technology and service provider that is active and has operations in many international markets with its headquarters in Akron, Ohio. Historically, the company is best known for their stea ...

factories. The bridge opened on 12 December 1934, but was destroyed on 17 June 1937 during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. The Francoists built a temporary bridge using barges and soon they started the work to rebuild the bridge. It was reopened in 1941 as "

General Mola Emilio Mola y Vidal (9 July 1887 – 3 June 1937) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the three leaders of the Nationalist coup of July 1936 that started the Spanish Civil War. After the death of José Sanjurjo on 20 July 1936, Mo ...

's Bridge". In 1983, the bridge regained its original name. In 2021, the bridge was subject to a technical inspection by the

Bilbao City Council The Bilbao City Council () is the Ayuntamiento (Spain), ayuntamiento of Bilbao (Spain). Its headquarter, the Bilbao City Hall, is located in the Ernesto Erkoreka Plaza. The city council is made up of an executive body and a Normativity, normative ...

, verifying the structural integrity of the bridge.

References

Bridges completed in 1929 Buildings and structures in Bilbao Bascule bridges {{Bilbao-metro-stub