Puente Blanco

Puente Blanco
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Image from 1984 before restoration
Location	NE of Quebradillas off PR 485, Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
Coordinates	18°29′10″N 66°55′34″W / 18.486115°N 66.926088°WCoordinates: 18°29′10″N 66°55′34″W / 18.486115°N 66.926088°W
Built	1922
Architect	American Railroad Company
Architectural style	Arch Bridge
NRHP Reference #	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 an 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]

References

1. National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. "Nomination Document. NRHP". National Park Service. 1984. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
3. Puente Blanco. Gobierno.pr (Spanish)
4. "Los Puentes Históricos de Puero Rico". Spanish: Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Archived from the original on February 25, 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2010.

See also

• Guajataca Tunnel