Congress Avenue Bridge

Less than a century ago this bridge served as the gateway to Austin. Originally a wooden pedestrian bridge, travelers used to pay a toll of a nickel to cross the Colorado River; and an extra nickel for your horse. In 1902, the bridge was washed away in a flood and replaced with a new bridge designed to handle automobile traffic. Since that time the bridge has maintained its status as a...

Approximately 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats have made the underside of the Congress Avenue bridge their summer home. The bats began congregating after the bridge underwent structural changes...