AuOvOm~Millau

Millau

The Millau Viaduct (French: le Viaduc de Millau) is a large cable-stayed road-bridge that spans the valley of the River Tarn near Millau in southern France. Designed by the structural engineer Michel Virlogeux and British architect Norman Foster, it is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, with one mast's summit at 343 metres (1,125 ft) — slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower and only 38 m (125 ft) shorter than the Empire State Building. The viaduct is part of the A75-A71 autoroute axis from Paris to Béziers. It was formally dedicated on 14 December 2004, inaugurated the day after and opened to traffic two days later. The bridge won the 2006 IABSE Outstanding Structure Award.

Construction records

The bridge’s construction broke three world records:

The highest pylons in the world: pylons P2 and P3, 244.96 metres (803 ft 8 in) and 221.05 metres (725 ft 3 in) in height respectively, broke the French record previously held by the Tulle and Verrières Viaducts (141 m/460 ft), and the world record previously held by the Kochertal Viaduct (Germany), which is 181 metres (590 ft) at its highest;

The highest mast in the world: the mast atop pylon P2 peaks at 343 metres (1,130 ft).

The highest road bridge deck in the world, 270 m (890 ft) above the Tarn River at its highest point. It is nearly twice as tall as the previous tallest vehicular bridge in Europe, the Europabrücke in Austria. It is slightly higher than the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia in the United States, which is 267 m (880 ft) above the New River. Only the bridge deck of the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado, United States (mainly a pedestrian bridge over the Arkansas River, occasionally also used by motor vehicles) is higher with 321 m (1,050 ft), and is considered the highest bridge in the world.

The record for highest bridge deck in the world is likely to be taken by the Chenab Bridge in the Reasi District of Jammu and Kashmir, India, scheduled for completion in December 2009, which will be 359 metres (1,180 ft) high.

Location

The Millau Viaduct is located on the territory of the communes of Millau and Creissels, France, in the département of Aveyron. Before the bridge was constructed, traffic had to descend into the Tarn River valley and pass along the route nationale N9 near the town of Millau, causing heavy congestion at the beginning and end of the July and August vacation season. The bridge now traverses the Tarn valley above its lowest point, linking two limestone plateaux, the Causee du Larzac and the Causse Rouge, and is inside the perimeter of the Grands Causses regional natural park.

The bridge forms the last link of the A75 autoroute, (la Méridienne) from Clermont-Ferrand to Pézenas (to be extended to Béziers by 2010). The A75, with the A10 and A71, provides a continuous high-speed route south from Paris through Clermont-Ferrand to the Languedoc region and through to Spain, considerably reducing the cost of vehicle traffic travelling along this route. Many tourists heading to southern France and Spain follow this route because it is direct and without tolls for the 340 kilometres (210 mi) between Clermont-Ferrand and Pézenas, except for the bridge itself.

The Eiffage group, which constructed the viaduct, also operates it, under a government contract which allows the company to collect tolls for up to 75 years. The toll bridge costs €5.60 for light automobiles (€7.40 during the peak months of July and August).