Opened in 1997, the bridge's unusual design consists of a curved walkway which is supported by steel suspension cables from an overhead arch.
Architectural professor Alexander Tzonis wrote:[1] "The intelligence, vitality, and originality of the bridge's curved configuration challenged the ordinariness and slow decline of the urban setting, bringing a message of hope and an invitation to imagine better conditions.
Local authorities temporarily installed a further scaffolding footway joining the bridge and Mazarredo street, but removed it under protests from Calatrava.
Calatrava responded in 2007 by suing Bilbao for the moral rights to the integrity of his creation (a part of the intellectual property under the Spanish copyright law), where a metal bar had been cut.
[7] In November 2007, a judge agreed that there was damage to the creator's moral rights but favored the local council and allowed Isozaki's connection to remain.