The viaduct was built to carry the
Great Harwood Loop (also known as the North Lancashire Loop) of the
East Lancashire Line, owned by the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR). It crosses the
River Ribble between
Great Harwood and
Read and was designed by Sturges Meek, the LYR's chief engineer. Construction began in 1870 but was beset with problems and the line did not open until. The line required deep cuttings at one end, the spoil from which was to be used to build the
embankments needed at the other end, which required it to be transported a distance of around three miles (five kilometres). A large coalfield is located underneath the route and a
colliery was located near the site of the river crossing, which led to concerns about the stability of the ground. Thus, the railway originally proposed a lightweight wooden viaduct but it eventually purchased the
coal measures at the insistence of the engineering contractors, Thomas Stone & Son, which enabled a stone viaduct to be built with confidence. Subsidence was a problem nonetheless—the embankments on either side of the viaduct continually slipped, including on one occasion shortly before the line was due to open, when the rails were carried away. Most of the line closed in 1957 and the viaduct with it. The remainder of the line closed in 1964. ==Description==