In the year of 1851, the construction of the bridge across Cetina in Trilj is mentioned, and in 1875, when Cetinska krajina was visited by the Emperor and King Franz Joseph the 1st, it was mentioned that through Trilj “fast trains started passing from Sinj to Imotska krajina.” The budget board of the Imperial Council in Vienna, on January 17, 1878, approved the financing of the state budget to include the roads in Dalmatia. That way, the bridge across Cetina in Trilj received 10 000 forints. The Iron Bridge in Trilj was built in 1880, and the government of the municipality asked the Emperor, King Franz Joseph the 1st, to give it permission to call the bridge by his name.

The request was approved, and the bridge was ceremoniously opened for traffic on September 29th 1880, on the day of St. Michael, patron saint of Trilj.