The bridge crosses Lady Bird Lake and contains joints and narrow spaces used by Mexican free-tailed bats. The colony transforms road infrastructure into a major urban wildlife refuge.
Collective flights create changing patterns above the water and skyline. Emergence varies with light, temperature, season and atmospheric conditions.
The river provides an open corridor and abundant insects. Bridge, water and city therefore form an unexpected ecological system.
The site combines urban zoology, engineering and landscape. Its distinctive quality lies in the coexistence of a large bat colony with one of central Austin’s principal avenues.