Puente Blanco | |
Location | NE of Quebradillas off PR 485, Quebradillas, Puerto Rico |
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Coordinates | 18°29′10″N66°55′34″W / 18.486115°N 66.926088°W Coordinates: 18°29′10″N66°55′34″W / 18.486115°N 66.926088°W |
Built | 1922 |
Architect | American Railroad Company |
Architectural style | Arch Bridge |
NRHP reference No. | 84003126 [1] |
Added to NRHP | February 23, 1984 |
The Puente Blanco (English: White Bridge) is a historic railway bridge that spans hundred and fifty feet deep and thirty six metres wide gorge across the Quebrada Mala Canyon, near Quebradillas, Puerto Rico. The bridge is the only reinforced concrete bridge in the area and the highest of its kind in Puerto Rico. [2] It was built in 1922 by the American Railroad Company to replace a 1907 steel bridge as part of the construction of the national railway system that connected the island during the first half of the twentieth century. It was built on a concrete platform that held the existing steel bridge without interrupting the passage of the railway. [3] The new bridge could hold two locomotives of 84 tons each. It was designed by Etienne Totti from Yauco who was the head engineer for the company. The bridge was restored by the municipality of Quebradillas, unfortunately as part of the repair the base was widened altering the character of the structure and hindering the view of the bridge. [4] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. [1]
Camuy is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Lares and San Sebastián; east of Quebradillas; and west of Hatillo. Camuy is spread over 12 barrios and Camuy Pueblo. The town celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2007.
Quebradillas is a town and municipality of the island of Puerto Rico located in the north-western shore bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of San Sebastián; east of Isabela; and west of Camuy. Quebradillas is spread over seven barrios and Quebradillas Pueblo. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Rail transport in Puerto Rico currently consists of a 10.7-mile (17.2 km) passenger metro system in the island's metropolitan area of San Juan. Its history can be traced back to the mid-19th century with the construction of a limited passenger line in Mayagüez. Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Puerto Rico's rail transport system expanded significantly, becoming one of the largest rail systems in the Caribbean at the time thanks to an economic boom in agriculture industries, especially the sugar cane industry. The rail system was expanded to include passenger travel with a direct line from the island's northern capital of San Juan to the western and southern cities and towns, greatly improving travel and communication within the island. However, the entire system was soon overshadowed by the arrival of the automobile, and by the 1950s was completely abandoned. Small remnants of this system still exist in some parts of Puerto Rico, some conserved for tourism purposes.
The Las Cabañas Bridge is a historic highway bridge in Adjuntas municipality, Puerto Rico. Built in 1919 to provide access to a key coffee-producing region, it was financed by nearby plantations through public subscription. Designer Rafael Nones and builder Félix Benítez Rexach, two of the most prominent figures in Puerto Rican bridge construction in the early 20th century, used a unique combination of steel and concrete technologies to produce a girder design unlike any other on the island and possibly beyond.
El Parterre is a landscaped park in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, that was built in 1851. The park encloses the Ojo de Agua, also referred to as Manantial Ojo de Agua, a natural spring which was a source of water for Spanish soldiers, and the source of a small rivulet locally called Chico River which empties into the Aguadilla Bay.
Manatí Bridge at Mata de Plátano, also known as Puente Juan José Jiménez and listed as Bridge #321 in Puerto Rico's bridge inventory, was built in 1905 in Hato Viejo, Ciales, Puerto Rico. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
Puente de las Calabazas is a single-span lattice girder bridge over the Cuyón River near Coamo, Puerto Rico on the Carreterra Central that dates from 1882. It was designed by Ricardo Camprubi and was fabricated by Eugen Rollin and Co., a Belgian firm that exported via Spain from Braine le Comte, Belgium. Prolific engineer Camprubí designed several single span lattice bridges in Puerto Rico. He also designed the first two-span lattice girder bridge in Puerto Rico, the Padre Inigo Bridge, which is also NRHP-listed. All of these were part of the Carretera Central.
Plata Bridge, listed in Puerto Rico's bridge inventory as Bridge #374 and now also known as Antiguo Puente Plata, was built in 1908. It is significant as "the only extant large multi span truss bridge in Puerto Rico", according to its nomination document for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. It includes two Parker truss spans and was built in 1908. It brought what is now Puerto Rico Highway 167 across the Rio La Plata, spanning from Bayamon municipality into and Naranjito, and connected several mountain towns to the coastal road along Puerto Rico's north coast.
The Arenas Bridge is a truss bridge built in 1894 between the municipalities of Cayey and Cidra in Puerto Rico. Also known as Puente Rio La Plata, it was the longest bridge constructed in Puerto Rico during the Spanish colonial period. It crosses the Rio de la Plata, the longest river in Puerto Rico. According to the U.S. National Park Service, "[t]his is the most important metal bridge in Puerto Rico from the period." The bridge is still standing.
This portion of National Register of Historic Places listings in Puerto Rico is along the central mountain region, from Las Marías and Maricao in the central-west to Juncos in the central-east, including the slopes of the Cordillera.
Guajataca Tunnel is a railroad tunnel that connected the town of Isabela and Quebradillas, Puerto Rico. The tunnel is one of the most significant work of the remnants of the national railway system that connected the island during the first half of the twentieth century. In 2000, the Government of Puerto Rico declared it a historical monument.
The Puente Río Portugués is a historic bridge over the former course of the Río Portugués in barrio Playa in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The bridge was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2015. The bridge is prominent as "the oldest longitudinal steel beams / reinforced concrete bridge built within the historic Carretera Central". It is located on Avenida Hostos, just south of its intersection with Ponce By Pass.
The Puente de Trujillo Alto is a Pennsylvania through truss bridge built during 1939–1941 in Puerto Rico in the Trujillo Alto municipality of Puerto Rico.
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 spans. 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.
The Cayey Bridge, also known as Puente de Cayey, is an iron lateral lattice girder bridge in Puerto Rico that was built in 1891. It brings Puerto Rico Highway 15 over the Guamaní River.
The Puente de Añasco, also called Puente Salcedo, is a bridge spanning between Añasco, Puerto Rico and Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. It is located at Kilometer 146.1 of Highway 2.
Puente No. 6, in Caguas, Puerto Rico is a historic bridge which was built in 1856. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009 and is located at Puerto Rico Highway 798, Km. 1.0 in Río Cañas barrio.
Cambalache Bridge or Puente Francés is a bridge built in 1893 which spans the Río Grande de Arecibo from Cambalache barrio to Tanamá barrio in Arecibo. It is located 100 meters west of Puerto Rico Highway 2, at kilometer 72.
Blanco Bridge or Bridge 152 was built in 1924, on Puerto Rico Highway 10 at km 48.1 in Arenas, a barrio of Utuado in Puerto Rico. PR-10 at this location connects the towns / municipalities of Utuado and Adjuntas. It's named Puente Blanco because it was painted white for decades. The concrete bridge rises 33 feet over the Pellejas River between Adjuntas and Utuado. The total length of the bridge is 20.5 meters and its width is 4.9 meters. The bridge designer was Rafael Nevares and Martín Aparicio was the builder. The bridge which cost $23,796 was important for these inland coffee municipalities. The bridge was added to the US National Register of Historic Places on July 19, 1995. The bridge met the requirements for its design and craftsmanship as well as for its significance to the historical period between 1924 - 1944 in Puerto Rico when coffee production was an important part of its economy. The bridge helped improve exchange and communication between nearby communities working in coffee production.
The Mavilla Bridge, or Bridge 354, is located at kilometer 17.7 on Puerto Rico Highway 159 between Corozal and Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The bridge has maintained most of its original design and structure over the years. It was constructed in 1903 replacing a wooden bridge that had been at the location since 1853, and served as a road between Toa Alta and Bayamón municipalities, in the 19th century.