No other high bridge in history caught the eye of the media more than the opening of the Millau Viaduct in Comprised of 8 consecutive cable stayed spans totaling 8, feet mtrs , the viaduct is the tallest bridge structure in the world with a pier and mast rising a lofty 1, feet mtrs above the ground. Despite being the highest bridge in Europe, the massive structure ranks only 13th among all high bridges of the world. The bridge has rightfully been described as beautiful, breathtaking, spectacular and awe-inspiring.
Located near the southern end of France, the bridge was the last major connection on the A75 motorway, a 4-lane highway that has been under construction in one form or another since Several routes were proposed that would have put the Tarn River crossing either east or west of the small town of Millau. The design of the bridge began in with Michel Virlogeux, an engineer who at the time was working with the engineering firm Setra. Later, a design competition refined his initial multi-cable stayed concept further.
This group continued to change the basic design until a committee of experts, politicians and specialists officially approved the 8-span cable stayed scheme in April of A final set of plans would take two more years of design and testing. Construction began in October of and took a little over 3 years - exceptional for such a large, complicated undertaking. The Millau viaduct spans a 2km valley in the Massif Central mountain range.
There is a toll plaza at A75 approaching the Millau Viaduct. When it opened on 17 December , Millau Viaduct set new standards in both planning design and construction, as well as the record as one of the largest cable-stayed bridges in Europe. The Millau Viaduct rest area, which can be accessed from the A75 motorway or from Millau via the D and the Boulevard du Viaduct roads, was inaugurated in July The viaduct reached a threshold of five million vehicles for the first time on 29 December Two major challenges were identified in building the structure, namely crossing the River Tarn and spanning the huge gap from one plateau to the other.
The solution proposed is unique using seven pylons instead of the typical two or three. It is several metres taller than the other famous French landmark, the Eiffel Tower. It has been designed to look as delicate and transparent as possible. Each of its sections spans m and its columns range from 75m to m in height over the river Tarn. It uses the minimum amount of material, which made it less costly to construct, namely the deck, the masts rising above the road deck and the multi-span cables are all in steel.
The seven piers of the Millau Viaduct are sunk in shafts of reinforced concrete in a pyramidal shape and divided in an overturned V. The shrouds are anchored and distributed in semi harps. The programme utilised hundreds of high-pressure hydraulic cylinders and pumps to push-launch the deck spans in place and a PC-synchronised lifting system to lift the auxiliary piers.
Millau viaduct holds the world record for the tallest bridge, culminating at metres higher than the Eiffel tower , metres long and touching the bottom of the Tarn valley in only 9 places. Conceived by the French engineer Michel Virlogeux and designed by the English architect Lord Norman Foster, it fits perfectly into the naturally intact and grandiose landscape: a very thin slightly curved steel roadway supported by stays gives it the appearance of a huge yacht and the ensemble rests on 7 very slender pillars.
Sabathier - Tourisme Aveyron. Take a few minutes to climb to the belvedere viewing point from where you can admire the sublime and panoramic view of the viaduct. Arnal - Tourisme Aveyron. President Jacques Chirac opened the bridge during the opening ceremony. This bridge broke several records. It has the highest pylons in the world meters and meters , the highest bridge tower in the world meters and the highest road bridge deck in Europe meters.
Metallic deck has a total mass of around 36, tonnes, length of 2. Six central spans have length of meters while two outer spans are meters. There are seven masts, each 87 meters high and weighting tonnes each. Each of them has eleven anchored cables stays that support road deck.
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