The building of the viaduct was coupled with the construction of the Ottoman-German project of Istanbul-Baghdad railway line to connect Berlin with Basra, then part of the Ottoman Empire, to enable direct supply of oil to German industry.

[2] The most difficult terrain on the route to overcome was the section at the Taurus Mountains between Konya and Adana, more specifically around the region of Belemedik, where in a distance of 12 km (7.5 mi) 22 tunnels in a row had to be dug in 20 years.

In 1903, the construction work force, consisting of German technical staff and thousands of multi-national workers, settled in a camp newly established in Belemedik, where all necessary facilities such as hospital, church, school, movie theatre and even mosque were built.

[2] The railway line had to cross the deep canyon of a creek called then Giaour Dere (today "Çakıt Deresi") that is situated between Hacıkırı village and Karaisalı town.

The railway stations at opposite ends of the viaduct, Hacıkırı and Karaisalı Bucağı, are still being served today by the "Central Anatolian Blue train" (Turkish: İç Anadolu Mavi treni).