The bridge was built to connect the historic center of Bilbao with the newly incorporated districts of Deusto, Begoña.

It reopened on 25 October 1939 under the name of Generalissimo Bridge (referring to Francisco Franco) during the mayoralty of José María Oriol Urquijo.

The last opening was held in March 2008, which made way for the 28th edition of the Regata Ingenieros-Deusto [es] rowing competition.

The works, scheduled for the following year, were aimed at comprehensive sanitation, fine-tuning of the lifting machinery and installation of a new lighting system, as well as a change in the corresponding pedestrian pathway.

The pavement of the bridge has been asphalted with a mixture of resin-based and aggregates in a pinkish tone, which ruled out the imitation of wood originally planned.