On 25 September 1852, the editor of Ponce newspaper El Ponceño suggested a bridge be built where Puente Río Portugués is currently located.

In 1856, the Ponce City Hall took on the matter and named a commission to detail the budget needed to build a bridge over Río Portugués.

[4] In 1876, the first non wooden bridge built at the site was brought from France, christened with the name Alfonso XII,[5] and installed that year.

This metal bridged was used for 23 years until the river knocked it off as a result of the rising waters from Hurricane San Ciriaco in 1899.

The bridge is architecturally Art Deco style and structurally it is built as a longitudinal beam with the exterior made up of reinforced concrete, steel, and cast iron.