Hondo River Bridge (1908)

Río Hondo Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Photograph of the Hondo River Bridge, a narrow, one-lane, single-span bridge set on masonry abutments, over a small river
The bridge in the later part of the 20th century
Location	Highway 156, km 26.9 Barrio Río Hondo Comerío, Puerto Rico
Coordinates
Area	92.7 m2 (998 sq ft)
Built	1881 (original construction) 1908 (installed at final site)
Architect	Rafael Nones (engineer)
Architectural style	Double Warren pony truss
MPS	Historic Bridges of Puerto Rico MPS
NRHP Reference #	95000842
Added to NRHP	July 19, 1995

The Hondo River Bridge (Spanish: Puente del Río Hondo) was a historic bridge over the Hondo River in Comerío municipality, Puerto Rico. As of 1995, it was the oldest bridge truss in Puerto Rico, employing a double Warren pony truss design and unique open web transverse joists. It was originally installed in 1881 as one of three spans of the Reyes Católicos Bridge over the Plata River on the San Juan–Mayagüez road, using metal parts fabricated in Belgium. After a hurricane destroyed one of the other spans of the Reyes Católicos Bridge in 1899, this surviving span was moved and re-installed on new abutments under the supervision of engineer Rafael Nones in 1908, as part of the Comerío–Barranquitas road. It was finally removed and replaced in 2001.

The bridge was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in central Puerto Rico

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Summary sheet from the Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Office (Spanish)
• National Register of Historic Places photographic file
• Historic Bridges of Puerto Rico MPS, National Register of Historic Places cover documentation