The viaduct carried the Dearne Valley Railway over the River Don between 1909 and 1966, after closure it was converted into a foot and cycle path.

The structure is grade II listed, and is notable for being one of the first bridges in Britain to be built using a rope system above the viaduct known as a "Blondin".

[1] The railway opened in stages, from 1902 onwards, with the final section of trackwork being completed in October 1908,[2] although the viaduct took longer, and was finished in March 1909.

[4] A passenger service operated as far as Edlington Halt on the south bank of the River Don between June 1912 and September 1951.

Subsidence was avoided by the contractors purchasing the minerals rights to the land underneath the viaduct, so the coal measures in the vicinity were never worked.

After Conisbrough Viaduct was built the timbers, and the Blondin, were re-used for the construction of Leighton Reservoir in North Yorkshire.