A man by the last name Martínez, the first owner of the La Barra hotel, La Posta del Cangrejo, convinced the then Uruguayan president Eduardo Víctor Haedo to build a bridge linking that town with Punta del Este.

Historically, there has been two bridges built at the same crossing of the Maldonado River which each failed due to natural disasters.

[1][2] The bridge was designed by builder Leonel Viera [es] (1913–1975), who had no previous experience in architecture or civil engineering.

Removal of the sandbags then compressively stressed the concrete structure, enhancing its stiffness and durability under load.

[4][5] In 1998, a contract was awarded to engineer Alberto Ponce Delgado to twin the bridge 20 meters (65 ft) upstream of the original span.