Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Iron Bridge opened on the 1st of January 1781. It was the first major bridge in the world built from cast iron, a material it proved could carry significant structural loads at scale.
Architect Thomas Farnolls Pritchard proposed the cast iron design in 1773 and is credited with the final aesthetic. Abraham Darby III, an ironmaster at Coalbrookdale, was commissioned to cast and build the bridge. Pritchard died on the 21st of December 1777, only a month after construction began.
The Iron Bridge has a main span of 100 ft 6 in. It is built from five sectional cast-iron ribs and contains almost 1,700 individual components.
Darby agreed to a budget of £3,250 (roughly £426,000 in 2023 values), but contemporary records suggest the actual cost reached as high as £6,000 (about £787,000 in 2023). Darby covered the excess himself despite existing debts from other ventures.
The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic on the 18th of June 1934. The decision followed concerns about the weight of the metal deck and pressure from tile delivery drivers who were exceeding recommended weight limits during the 1930s housing boom.
The Iron Bridge, the adjacent settlement of Ironbridge and the Ironbridge Gorge form the UNESCO Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, designated in 1986. The bridge is also a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument, and is owned by Telford and Wrekin Council.