In 1980, when engineers reconstructed the Congress Avenue Bridge, they had no idea its underbelly would become a popular bat roost. Today, the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge is a tourism hot spot in the City of Austin, thanks to its 1.5 million bat tenants who make a nightly grand exit to go feast on insects.
This iconic bridge was the design inspiration behind JD Abrams’ new office building, a single story, 15,500-sf structure located south of Highway 71 and just west of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
DCI Engineers helped this vision become a reality by providing structural design for the recreated bridge arches, located at the building’s entrance. This element of the building provides as much utility as it does aesthetics since the “bridge” columns and arches are the primary support for the concrete slab atop the roof.
The JD Abrams building is very much a part of Southeast Austin’s light industrial development boom, which includes a nearby 95-acre site that will deliver 964,000-sf of industrial space to the market.
