Congress Avenue Bridge

The Congress Avenue Bridge is a landmark in the City of Austin, Texas. The bridge spans Lady Bird Lake and provides access to the Capital of Texas Highway from downtown. As a result, it is one of the most-photographed landmarks in the city. It has been called "beautiful," "iconic," and even "Austin's Eiffel Tower."

The bridge is also unique. It has six lanes of traffic, with three going in each direction. There are sidewalks on either side so pedestrians can get to the other side without having to go back downtown and cross at the next available intersection or street crossing. The Congress Avenue Bridge consists of two bridges: a southbound bridge and a northbound bridge. Each one is made up of three spans and has a length of 360 feet (110 m).

There are also six lamp posts on each side that light the way at night. The lamps were installed in 1993 and have an Art Deco design, which makes them perfect for this 1930s-era structure. They were donated by the Austin Electric Company. The bridge was built in the art deco style as well with a mix of architectural styles that include neoclassical and Beaux-Arts—the two dominant styles during the 1920s.

It took five years to build, from June 1925 until September 1930, for $350,000 (equal to $ today). The construction was done by the Austin Bridge Company, which also built bridges on Lady Bird Lake.

The bridge is named after Congress Avenue (pronounced /ˈkɒŋˌsɔrj ˈævəndʒ/) because it leads to the Texas State Capitol building located in downtown Austin.