[1] Following a three-year planning phase on 7 July 1840 the city appointed Karl Emanuel Müller as the lead engineer on the Nydegg Bridge project.

Starting in August 1840, crews worked throughout the winter of 1840/41 to build coffer dams and prepare the foundations for the bridge pillars.

By the summer of 1843, the central arch was completed and on 14–15 September 1843 the placing of the keystone was celebrated with cannon fire, speeches and a feast.

[2] With major construction completed, the scaffolding was dismantled and work began on the decoration and roadway on the bridge.

[4] On 1 March 1853, a portion of the 1848 Swiss Federal Constitution came into effect and removed all internal tolls on travel and trade.

The bridge was built with a core of Merlinger and Jura limestone (from Solothurn) and then clad with blue sandstone from nearby Ostermundigen.