Although originally designed to carry a dual 3-lane motorway on the top deck, during and subsequent to the strengthening work the M1 was reduced to 2 lanes following an EU directive on load bearing capacity to allow for the introduction of 40-tonne trucks in the UK.

[8] Since the opening of the M1 junction 32 to 35a smart motorway scheme in January 2017, the viaduct once again carries 3 lanes of traffic plus hard shoulders in each direction.

[9] The viaduct is balanced on rollers to allow for thermal expansion and contraction, and the route weaves slightly in order to make its way past obstacles.

The Meadowhall Shopping Centre lies in the valley to the west; to the east is the Blackburn Meadows sewage works and new biomass power station.

The viaduct is one of Sheffield's most prominent landmarks, and was once made all the more so by the adjacent pair of cooling towers that were left standing for safety reasons after the demolition of the Blackburn Meadows Power Station.

The cooling towers were a major point of contention over the years and were once saved from destruction only after being chosen as a nesting site by a rare bird.