Millau Viaduct
The Millau Viaduct is a large bridge in Millau, France in the Département of Aveyron. It was designed by the French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux and British architect Sir Norman Foster. As of September 2020,[update] it is the tallest bridge in the world, at 336.4 metres (1,104 ft) tall.[5]
Millau Viaduct Viaduc de Millau (French) | |
|---|---|
 Millau Viaduct under construction | |
| Coordinates | 44°04′46″N 03°01′20″E / 44.07944°N 3.02222°E |
| Carries | 4 lanes of the A75 autoroute |
| Crosses | Gorge valley of the river Tarn |
| Locale | Millau-Creissels, Aveyron, France |
| Official name | Viaduc de Millau |
| Maintained by | Compagnie Eiffage du Viaduc de Millau[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Multiple-span cable-stayed viaduct motorway bridge[1] |
| Material | Concrete, steel |
| Total length | 2,460 m (8,070 ft)[1] |
| Width | 32.05 m (105.2 ft)[1] |
| Height | 336.4 m (1,104 ft) (max pylon above ground)[1][2] |
| Longest span | 342 m (1,122 ft)[1] |
| No. of spans | 204 m (669 ft), 6×342 m (1,122 ft), 204 m (669 ft)[1] |
| Clearance below | 270 m (890 ft)[1][3] |
| Design life | 120 years |
| History | |
| Designer | Dr Michel Virlogeux, structural engineer[1] |
| Constructed by | Compagnie Eiffage du Viaduc de Millau[1][2][3][4] |
| Construction start | 16 October 2001[1] |
| Construction cost | € 394,000,000[2] |
| Opened | 16 December 2004, at 09:00 hrs[1] |
| Inaugurated | 14 December 2004[1] |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | from € 8.30 |
| Location | |
 | |
Before the bridge was built, people had to use the national route N9 near the town of Millau. This meant that there was a lot of traffic in July and August.[6] The bridge now crosses the Tarn valley above its lowest point, linking the Causse du Larzac to the Causse Rouge, and is inside the Grands Causses regional natural park.
The bridge forms the last link of the A75 autoroute, (la Méridienne) from Clermont-Ferrand to Béziers. The A75, with the A10 and A71, provides a continuous quick route south from Paris to Clermont-Ferrand, Béziers and Spain. Many tourists going to southern France and Spain use this route because it is direct and has no tolls for the 340 km between Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers, except on the bridge.
References
change- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Millau Viaduct at Structurae. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "France shows off tallest bridge". BBC News Online. 14 December 2004. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "France 'completes' tallest bridge". news.BBC.co.uk. BBC News. 29 May 2004. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ↑ Chris Bockman (4 November 2003). "France builds world's tallest bridge". BBC News Online. Millau. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ↑ "Millau Viaduct (Millau/Creissels, 2004)". Structurae. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ↑ "BBC News | In Pictures". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
