Approval for the viaduct's construction was issued in 2017 via the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Act 2017; its design was publicly revealed two years later.

Authorisation to construct the Wendover Dean Viaduct was granted, along with the rest of the first phase of HS2, by the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Act 2017.

[5] Prior to its approval, the council held talks with HS2 Ltd, during which the latter gave assurances related to the noise levels that will be produced by the operational viaduct, along with numerous refinements to the design to minimise its impact upon the local community.

This double composite design has been claimed by the architect firm to be the first use of such an approach in Britain, although such techniques have been used before for France's TGV high speed network.

[4][6][7] A total of 1,400 tonnes of weathering steel will be used, featuring an intentionally dark russet finish for a pleasing visual effect, reportedly making the structure appear to be thinner.