Haussmann's renovation of Paris
Arellano designed the bridge in the style of the passageways constructed during Haussmann's renovation of Paris. He embellished the piers with a statues of boys on dolphins, similar to the those on the Pont Alexandre III at the river Seine (which he had previously visited). Similar to the Parisian Pont, he marked both ends of the bridge with four plinths and commissioned a sculptor named Martinez to build four statues, called "La Madre Filipina" (The Philippine Motherland), which would be placed on the pedestals.