IT CONNECTS BILBAO, CAUSING IT TO MAKE SENSE, AND IT ALWAYS GETS BACK UP NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES IT’S KNOCKED DOWN BY FLOODING OR EVEN DYNAMITE. por JP Zurdo We often draw comparisons with animals as the embodiment of certain personality traits, so why not with infrastructure? A dyke doesn’t suggest the same qualities as a bridge, for instance. A bridge suggests a readiness to serve, promotion of societal cohesion and the connection of different banks, as well as con-stancy and the ability to overcome obstacles. This is certainly true of San Antón bridge, which is so old the original version may well predate Bilbao. For centuries, it was the sole, crucial point of pas-sage between the harbor and the inland trade networks. Swept away on multiple occasions by river floods, it was resus-citated every time by Bilbao’s people. In the late 19th century, it was replaced with another, more resistant bridge, which was then destroyed by dynamite during the Spanish Civil War. Just one year later, in 1938, it was entirely rebuilt by a team led by José Entrecan-ales Ibarra, who used his experience with foundations, concrete, and metal trusses to lower costs and speed things up by saving on shoring equipment. The bridge’s appearance owes itself to a desire to commemo-rate its famous medieval predecessor—pictured on Bilbao’s coat of arms—which had two large arches, and to the need to allow clear-ance for the busy industrial traffic on the Nervión River and to con-tinue the same level over which a streetcar passes. Necessity is the mother of invention: it was built one half at a time, as if two dif-ferent lanes spanned its length, to ensure it could continue to pro-vide service, encourage social interaction, and connect the banks.