Grade II* listed, it was originally built to carry the Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway (NA&HR) across the Rhymney River, and is now part of National Cycle Route 47.

[1] With a stipulated completion date of 1 October 1854, Liddell engaged contractors Messrs Rennie and Logan, who began work on the masonry structure in mid-1853.

[1] Maesycwmmer was a quiet rural farming valley before 1846, but the first project of Messrs Rennie and Logan was to construct both a quarry, from which to extract stone to build the viaduct, and also a complete housing and social complex for workers and their families.

[2] Liddell's design consisted of 16 arches, with the first effectively a separate bridge skewed across the low level B&MR, to allow for crossing their Hengoed railway station.

With a maximum height above the valley bottom of 120 feet (37 m) and a full length of 284 yards (260 m), construction came at a cost of £20,000 (equivalent to £1,430,400 in 2003), with one fatal accident.

Through passenger and goods traffic ceased over the viaduct on 15 June 1964, and the line was completely closed and the track lifted later that year as part of the Beeching cuts.