The Vizcaya Bridge is the Spanish transporter bridge completed in 1893 across the Nervion River near Bilbao.
Designed by Basque engineer Alberto Palacio, the bridge connects Portugalete and Getxo in the Bilbao metropolitan area. Instead of carrying a conventional roadway from bank to bank, its suspended gondola transports pedestrians, cars, and other vehicles across the river beneath the high steel structure.
The bridge was an innovative response to the need for a crossing that would not obstruct shipping heading toward Bilbao’s port. Its main span is about 164 metres, and the passenger gondola operates below the elevated framework. A separate upper walkway opened to visitors in the 21st century.
The Vizcaya Bridge became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006. It is often called the Puente Colgante, or Hanging Bridge, but that name can be misleading because it is technically a transporter bridge rather than an ordinary suspension bridge.