The line and viaduct are currently owned and maintained by Network Rail and carries passenger traffic for TransPennine Express and Grand Central train operating companies.

[2] The section of line through Yarm to Eaglescliffe (original Preston) Junction[3][4][5] was formally started in July 1847,[6] but work on the viaduct did not commence until 1849.

[7] The structure opened up to traffic on 15 May 1852[8] and it was the last work completed by Grainger as he died two months later in a railway accident in Stockton-on-Tees.

[15] The structure was strengthened in two of its spans with extra bricks on the inside of the arches and stabilisation works undertaken in 2001 due to subsidence, lessened the vibrations felt by property owners below the viaduct either significantly or completely.

[22][23] Workers on the structure (navvies) were paid £1 per day with the total cost of the bridge being £44,500 by its completion in 1852 (£5.6 million equivalent in 2016).