Table of Contents
When was the Congress bridge built?
1909
Congress Avenue Bridge/Construction started
Why do bats live under Congress Bridge?
Hundreds of people gather in the Texas capital every day at sunset to watch an estimated 1.5 million Brazilian free-tailed bats emerge from the Congress Avenue Bridge. The crevices protect bats from predators and provide female bats with an incubator-like setting to raise their young.
Which historic bridge is home to the largest urban bat colony in the world?
Congress Avenue Bridge
Congress Avenue Bridge shelters the largest urban bat colony in North America. Between 750,000 and 1.5 million bats fly out near dusk.
How many bats are under the Congress Bridge?
1.5 million bats
Texas hill country Region Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, located in the heart of downtown Austin, hosts the largest urban bat colony in the world, estimated at 1.5 million bats.
Where is Congress Avenue Bridge?
Austin
Congress Avenue Bridge/Location
The Congress Avenue bridge spans Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin and is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America known as the Congress Bridge Bats. This colony is estimated at 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats.
How tall is Congress Bridge?
Built in 1910 and rehabilitated in 1980, the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge spans 910 feet atop a series of concrete arches over Lady Bird Lake. Prior to the present-day concrete structure, the same location was crossed by a number of bridges made of pontoons, wood, and iron.
How do Austinites pronounce Guadalupe?
Public art on Guadalupe Street, pronounced “Gwad-A-Loop” by countless generations of Austinities. Sure – Austin’s weird.
Where do the bats live in Congress Bridge?
Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge is home to the world’s largest urban bat colony, which is composed of Mexican free-tailed bats. The bats reside beneath the road deck in gaps between the concrete component structures.
What kind of bats live under Congress Bridge?
Yep, those are the Mexican Free-Tailed Bats. A 1980 renovation transformed the Congress Avenue Bridge into an ideal bat cave, soon attracting migrating Mexican free-tailed bats.
How high is Congress Bridge?
45 FT.
Roadway, Bridge Piers are 45 FT. above ground.
Why is Austin called bat City?
As the sun sets over Austin, the bats emerge from their roost beneath the bridge en route for their dinner. These bats are part of a clade believed to be over six-million-years old and have cousins all over the world. They get their name because of their unique tails, which are almost half their total length.