The bridge is built of reinforced and prestressed concrete, a deliberate choice that set it apart from the eleven other competition entries. Five main spans, each 235 meters long, are suspended from towers rising 92 meters above the water, providing 46 meters of clearance for ship traffic below. The decision to use concrete rather than steel was partly economic: prestressed concrete was expected to be cheaper to maintain over time. But it was also strategic. Otaola and Benedetti saw the project as an opportunity to develop Venezuelan expertise in advanced concrete construction, technology the country would need as its oil-fueled infrastructure boom accelerated. Morandi's design, elegant in its simplicity, used inclined stays radiating from single towers, a signature approach he would repeat in other bridges around the world.

On April 6, 1964, barely two years after the bridge opened, the oil tanker Esso Maracaibo collided with the structure. The impact caused a section of the bridge to collapse, killing seven people. The accident exposed the vulnerability of a bridge that served as the sole road link between Maracaibo and the rest of the country. Repairs were made, and the bridge continued to carry traffic, but proposals for a second crossing began circulating as early as 1982. Studies conducted since 2000 have estimated the cost of a companion bridge at approximately $440 million, to be financed largely through tolls. As of yet, no second bridge has been built, and the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge continues to bear the full burden of vehicular connection across the strait.

On August 14, 2018, a stayed pier collapsed on the Ponte Morandi in Genoa, Italy, killing 43 people. That bridge had also been designed by Riccardo Morandi. The catastrophe in Genoa immediately raised concerns about the structural integrity of every Morandi-designed bridge still in service, including the one over Lake Maracaibo. The two structures share fundamental design principles: concrete cable-stayed construction with inclined stays anchored to single towers. Venezuelan engineers and officials have since scrutinized the Lake Maracaibo bridge with heightened attention. The Genoa collapse served as a reminder that innovative engineering carries long-term responsibilities, and that the same design genius that solved one problem can, decades later, create another.

The bridge is named after General Rafael Urdaneta, a hero of Venezuelan independence who was born in Maracaibo. Before its construction, the city was geographically isolated, reachable from the rest of Venezuela only by boat or air across Lake Maracaibo, one of the largest lakes in South America. The bridge transformed Maracaibo from an island city into a connected one, enabling the movement of goods, people, and oil industry infrastructure that fueled the region's growth. Crossing it today, the lake stretches to the horizon on both sides, and the towers rise from the water like sentinels. For the people of Zulia state, it is not merely a piece of infrastructure. It is the link that made their participation in the national life of Venezuela physically possible.