The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge is the bridge across Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. This concrete arch bridge has three vehicle lanes in both directions and sidewalks on both sides. When its first span was built in the 19th century, the bridge used to cross Colorado River and was called the Congress Avenue Bridge until the Longhorn Dam created Lady Bird Lake in 1960.
The bridge is home to the largest urban bat colony in the world with 1.5 million bats. As they emerge every night from their nests, they attract a huge number of observers. To provide a safe and comfortable area for seeing the bats, The Austin American-Statesman created the Statesman Bat Observation Center next to the Congress Bridge.