IRONBRIDGE

Ironbridge also spelled Iron-bridge, structure that is generally considered the first cast-iron bridge, spanning the River Severn at Ironbridge, near Coalbrookdale, in Shropshire, England. It is now a British national monument. The bridge's semicircular arch spans 100.5 feet (30.6 m) and has five arch ribs, each cast in two halves. Designed by Abraham Darby or Thomas Pritchard, the bridge was erected by Darby in 177779. (A similar bridge had been cast in France a few years earlier but not erected.) The bridge is still used for pedestrian traffic, despite a slight humping of the arch.