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General Norzagaray Bridge

San Juan, US

General Norzagaray Bridge

The General Norzagaray Bridge is a brick and masonry barrel vault bridge built in 1855 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Also known as Puente de los Frailes, it brings what is now Puerto Rico Highway 873 across Frailes Creek, a tributary to the Guaynabo River. It has eight 9.8-metre (32 ft) barrel vault spa

ns. Its total length is 120.7 metres (396 ft) and its roadway width is 7.00 metres (22.97 ft). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1995, and on the Puerto Rico Register of Historic Sites and Zones in 2000. In 1855, it was important for carrying the Carretara Central across Quebrada Frailes. It is named for Fernándo de Norzagaray y Escudero, governor of Puerto Rico from 1852 to 1855. It was designed by chief engineer Manuel Sanchez-Nunez y Layne and built by engineer Gustavo Steinacher (who also designed and built the first suspension bridge in the Caribbean, over the Cagüitas River just north of Caguas, Puerto Rico) and cost 45,346 pesos. According to its NRHP registration, it "is one of the most impressive bridges from the Spanish Colonial period", serving as a "prime example of Spanish 19th century masonry arch technology". It is the only such example...

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