8. From the Iron Bridge to Union Bridge
Going along Echegaray y Caballero Promenade, we will see at the opposite bank -after passing San Lázaro Viewpoint- another "viewpoint" or boardwalk supported by a steel structure. It is the so-called In Line of History, one of the winners of Expoagua Art Contest. His author is the German Claus Bury, who, from the very beginning, proposed to place the work there -next to the foundations of the old Boards Bridge and as an hommage to it. The access is at Jesús district by Puente de Tablas Street (Board Bridge Street). The old bridge remained until the Nuestra Señora del Pilar Bridge was opened in 1895. This one was completely reformed and extended by the Municipality in 1991, according to the plan of the engineer Javier Manterola. The works consisted of the restoration of the old one, and the construction of two new curved stretches, one at each side of the old.
After crossing it, down the river we can see a picturesque garden area with beautiful views of the mouth of the river Huerva. There is placed a sculpture made by the Sevillian artist Federico Guzmán (another of the winners of the contest called by Expoagua), named Spring, even though the first idea was to put it at Macanaz Grove. Not only the place was changed during its construction, but also the concept of the work, since the initial plan presented a huge cork-on crumpled bottle with powerful water jets gushing from it. Whereas, to be consistent with the author´s obsession with recycling and environmental sustainability, only flows a thin sheet of water pouring down from the side creases of the uncorked mouth of the bottle. The cork is on the ground and the map of the basin is drawn on it.
The above mentioned sculpture seems very appropriate as complement to the Monument to the Ebro, placed a stretch ahead at Vadorrey Garden. This monument consists of a recycled boat used in other times for carrying beetroots by the Canal Imperial de Aragón, that, once restored, was used by the Municipal Department of Parks and Gardens as ornament for a fountain, an initiative of Vadorrey Neighbours Association. It is a curious coincidence that the River Port -the main jetty of the navigable system of the Ebro- was built nearby in 2008.