"Throughout the 19th century, the countries that were incorporated into the Industrial Revolution, led by the United Kingdom, managed to apply a series of technical advances in architecture and engineering, which turned out to be fundamental in the rapid development of both. throughout the 20th century, and who knew how to respond to the massive housing, transportation and consumption needs that became vital for a West in constant economic growth.
The use of iron, imitating the classical language at first, and creating its own later, as a result of its own appearance, was one of the great advances that allowed structural developments that until then, with the only use of stone, they were impossible. Not only are new spaces achieved, but their construction was more economical, due to the mass production of the parts and the consequent acceleration of the assembly.
The iron bridge at the mouth of the Guadalmedina river, inaugurated in 1913, fully falls within this stream of application of new materials and work systems. Its appearance is elongated and lacks intermediate supports. The prefabricated beams are arranged diagonally oriented towards the center, starting from each corner, forming diamonds in the central section and intersecting with beams perpendicular to the base, all riveted, with a clear intention of axiality, the last manifestation of the classical tradition. Despite these small concessions to the past, it shows the language of engineering, and that the industry that supported it knew how to create. Málaga immersed in industrial development and with a growing population, it did not lack for entrepreneurs. Thus, the Compañía de Ferrocarriles Suburbanos, which had previously launched the Málaga-Ventas de Zafarraya railway line, promoted a second line between the capital and Coín, which was what determined the construction of the central station on port land. The line was built in several phases, so that the railway reached Alhaurín el Grande in 1913 and Coín two years later. As soon as it left the port, it crossed the Guadalmedina on the new metallic bridge. These roads were also used for the transport of goods by the industries located between the western part of the city and the port."
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