Millau Viaduct (Le Viaduc de Millau), France

The Millau Viaduct is presently (Feb 2011) the tallest bridge in the world. It is a cable-stayed road-bridge spanning the valley of the river Tarn. The bridge was named after the nearby village of Millau, in the department of Aveyron in the region of Midi-Pyrénées, in Southern France.

Construction on the Millau Viaduct began on 10 October 2001, and the bridge opened to traffic on 14 December, 2004, a few months after the Rio-Antirrio Bridge in Greece. It was designed by French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux and British architect Sir Norman Foster.

Millau Viaduct comprises an eight-span steel roadway supported by seven concrete piers. The piers range in height from 77 meters (253 ft) to 246 meters (807 ft). Their width tapers from a base of 24.5 m (80ft) to 11 m (36 ft) at the deck. The piers each support masts that are 87 m (285 ft) tall. The six central spans between the masts measure 342 m (1,122 ft) while the outer spans are each 204 m (669 ft).

The Millau Viaduct has a total length of 2.46 km (8,071 ft). It carries a 4-lane motorway, the A75 autoroute, across the valley. The bridge was built at a cost of €394 million.

Millau Viaduct
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Creissels_et_Viaduct_de_Millau.jpg
Author: Ritchyblack


Approaching the Millau Viaduct
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2005_MillauViaduc0409.JPG
Author: Clem Rutter


Millau Viaduct at night
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Viaduc_de_Millau#mediaviewer/File:Millau_et_Viaduc.jpg
Author: Stefan Krause)

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