Millau viaduct is a cablestayed bridge located in southern france. The millau viaduct stands as the tallest bridge in the world, with a structural height extending approximately 1,125 ft above the tarn river valley in france. Millau viaduct the millau viaduct is located on millau. In a francobritish partnership, it was designed by the english architect lord norman foster and french structural engineer michel virlogeux. Each year, more than 500,000 people visit this work, appreciating it from every angle. It is a truly amazing piece of engineering, especially considering the method used to span the distance between. To better understand the many bridges within this web site, a basic knowledge of general bridge history and engineering principles will help. The viaduct standing over 343 meters tall was the worlds tallest cablestayed bridge and was proposed as the missing link in the a75 auto route that connects paris in the north to perpignan. Millau viaduct is part of the a75a71 auto route axis from paris to montpellier 7. A viaduct is a bridge consisting of a number of short spans for carrying a road over a valley, river etc. The millau viaduct the technique used to place the pylons can be traced back to ancient egypt the pylons were slowly lifted using hydraulics and at the same time were made to pivot into place.
It is a truly amazing piece of engineering, especially considering the method used to span the. Millau bridge facts and history of millau viaduct in france. Millau viaduct multiple span single line cable stayed bridge the tallest bridge in the world. Designer, dr michel virlogeux, structural engineer. French engineer michel virlogeux and renowned british architect norman foster overcame many obstacles to design a structure that was initially considered impossible to construct. Millau viaduct the millau viaduct is a cablestayed bridge that spans the gorge valley of the river tarn near millau in southern france. The millau viaduct is a seminal civil engineering structure on the motorway a75, linking clermontferrand to montpellier. Its civil engineering structure was originally designed by the same author, the french engineer michel virlogeux. Designed by the french structural engineer michel virlogeux and british. The millau viaduct was completed in 2004, eliminating traffic jams in the town centre. It is the worlds tallest cablestayed bridge with a height of 343m which is 40m more than the height of eiffel tower. The millau viaduct is not only considered as an exceptional piece of work from the. It is the tallest bridge in the world, with one masts summit at 343. It is 70 kilometres 43 mi from the aveyron prefecture headquarters in rodez.
Millau viaduct extends across the tarn river valley linking two limestone plateaus, the. It is located at the confluence of the rivers tarn and dourbie. Consistently ranked as one of the great engineering achievements of all time, this cable bridge spans 2. It is also a major centre for outdoor sporting activity. Another issue with the design and implementation of the millau viaduct was where to get the funding for the project.
Millau bridge france considered to be the worlds tallest bridge. Millau viaduct designed by architect norman foster. The millau viaduct introductionthe region surrounding the town of millau is famous for roquefort cheese and until the inauguration of the millau viaduct on the 14th december 2003 it was also famous as a traffic bottleneck the millau viaduct is a multi span cable stayed bridge that links the two sides of the a75 connecting paris to barcelona and relieving millaus roads from summer gridlock. I recommend everyone interested in concrete to read it, but do not expect to find there everything. As of november 2018, it is the tallest bridge in the world, having a structural height of. No other high bridge in history caught the eye of the media more than the opening of the millau viaduct in 2004. The town is now a tourist centre with one of the largest touring campsites in central france, benefiting from the attraction of the landscapes all around, and the architecturally acclaimed millau viaduct. The millau viaduct is a magnificent example, in the long and great french tradition, of audacious works of art, a tradition begun at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries by the great gustave eiffel, president of france jacques chirac told a reception. The 10 best hotels near millau viaduct in millau, france.
At 984 feet tall, the eiffel tower is an impressive structure that soars above the paris skyline. He would like to see the millau viaduct in the south of france. The design and the construction of the millau viaduct. But on the other hand i enjoyed it and i found some interesting points of view in it.
This structure was built using the method longitudinal launching with temporary cablestays. Spanning the spectacular gorge of the river tarn in southern france, the millau viaduct provides a critical link in the a75 autoroute between. Its highest tower stretches a staggering 343 meters in height and 2. Spanning the river, the magnificent millau viaduct opened 2004 is the worlds tallest road bridge 1,125 feet 343 metres. We hope that our site gives you a better understanding of the history and construction behind the millau viaduct. The millau viaduct is a cablestayed bridge that spans the gorge valley of the tarn near millau in southern france. I knew that the millau viaduct has been on his bucket list for a long time, so it seemed sensible to detour off the obvious route and take it in on this trip. Millau viaduct 10 facts on the tallest bridge in the world. It was designed by the british architect lord norman foster.
Aug 28, 2014 the millau viaduct is a cablestayed bridge that spans the valley of the river tarn near millau in southern france. This book follows the evoloution of millau viaduct in southern france from. It belongs to the same family as the normandy bridge. This classic piece of architecture that has created history, is one of the first. Millau viaduct is the tallest bridge in the world with a structural height of. In an anglofrench partnership, dubious discuss it was designed by the french structural engineer michel virlogeux and english architect norman foster. Compagnie eiffage du viaduc millau is the concessionaire. The slender millau viaduct in southern france is one of the tallestand most elegantbridges in the world. Presentation of the viaduct the millau viaduct fig. The millau viaduct is a multi span cable stayed bridge that links the two sides of the a75 connecting paris to barcelona and relieving millau s roads from summer gridlock. Prior the viaducts construction traffic would have had to descend the tarn valley causing a bottle neck in the town of millau especially during the summer months of july and august. Its designers are the french structural engineer michel virlogeux and british architect norman foster. May 21, 2015 designed by the french structural engineer michel virlogeux and british architect norman foster, it is the tallest bridge in the world with one masts summit at 343. Millau viaduct norman foster great buildings architecture.
The cost of the construction was 400 million french euros or 585 million united states dollars. Viaduct is derived from the latin via for road and ducere, to lead. Spanning the spectacular gorge of the river tarn in southern france, the millau viaduct provides a critical link in the a75 autoroute between clermont. Designed by the structural engineer michel virlogeux and british architect norman foster, it is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, with one masts summit at 343 metres 1,125 ft slightly taller than the eiffel. Within the civil engineering field several disciplines had to work together in finding solutions to problems as well as initial design and planning of the extensive project. The 2,460m 8,070ft long millau viaduct across the tarn valley, france, is supported by seven concrete piers, the tallest of which measures. Spanning the spectacular gorge of the river tarn in southern france, the millau viaduct provides a critical link in thea75 autoroute between clermont. Bridges are often considered to belong to the realm of the engineer rather than that of the architect. The millau viaduct, built by sir norman foster, an english architect, extends for more than 2 kilometers and culminates at 343 meters above the tarn. The millau viaduct is an enormous cablestayed roadbridge that spans the valley of the river tarn near millau in southern france. And in this new millennium and century think millau viaduct, the product of british design and french engineering prowess that sets a soaring example of the bridge builders art. Millau viaduct is the worlds tallest bridge, a claim based on the height of the towers, which are taller than the eiffel tower. Millau viaduct news newspapers books scholar jstor april 2017 learn how and. Video taken during two crossings of the fantastic millau viaduct over the tarn valley in the massif central in southern france, one southnorth, the other in the opposite direction.
Millau bridge is 2460 meters long and the main span is 342 meters. As of november 2018, it is the tallest bridge in the world, having a. Millau viaduct is a motorway bridge freeway bridge, multiplespan cablestayed bridge, cablestayed bridge with semifan system, steel bridge, steel pylon and concrete pier that was built from 2001 until 2004. This issue was solved by the private construction firm eiffrage who privately funded the bridge in exchange for a 75year operating contract palmquist,2005. Millau viaduct by sir norman foster, thomas leslie waterstones. The millau viaduct is a cablestayed bridge that spans the valley of the river tarn near millau in southern france. My son and i will be spending a week in paris in august. The bridge was built to relieve traffic in the picturesque town of millau, a notorious bottleneck on a major route between northern france and the. To follow up on the exceptional government measures, the millau viaduct rest area is closed until further notice.
Milhau pronounced is a commune in the aveyron department in the french occitanie region in southern france. The maintenance of the bridge the millau viaduct bridge. Traditional spas such as axlesthermes in ariege and cauterets and bagneresdebigorre in hautepyrenees draw tourists as well. Millau viaduct creissels bridge, visual arts facebook. Comprised of 8 consecutive cable stayed spans totaling 8,100 feet 2460 mtrs, the viaduct is the tallest bridge structure in the world with a pier and mast rising a lofty 1,100 feet 335 mtrs above the ground. Millau is a commune in southern france located at the confluence of the tarn and dourbie rivers. Dec 16, 2014 the tallest bridge in the world is the millau viaduct.
It presents different points of interest from the point of view of mutps. The millau viaduct is a cablestayed bridge that spans the gorge valley of the tarn near millau. It has won many international awards and is world famous. It is surrounded by the landscapes of gorges du tarn, causse du larzac and causse noir. Places of historical and archaeological interest include the. The viaduct carries the a75 clermontferrand to beziers motorway across the tarn valley. The millau viaduct took a team of engineers to come to completion. This means that eiffage would be allowed to collect the money produced from the toll to cross the bridge for the. Viaduct history of bridges tunnels and bridges history. Also, while the eiffel tower is only one vertical structure, the millau viaduct has seven. Despite its photograph on the front cover, there is not even an index entry to the millau viaduct in the book. The project cost 400 million euros and was entirely privately financed and constructed by eieffage. Millau viaduct is cablestayed bridge in france over a valley of the river tarn near millau.
The bridge has been ranked as one of the great engineering achievements of all time. Millau, france motorway bridge over the river tarn in millau and longest cable stayed bridge in the world construction period. The romans renamed it aemilianum and developed it as a pottery centre. To name a few structural engineers, transportation engineers, and geotechnical engineers all played a huge role in the millau viaduct project. The height of the bridge deck itself is only the 17th tallest in. It lies in the grandscausses plateau region and regional park, at the confluence of the tarn and dourbie rivers, southeast of rodez on the northwestern edge of the causses du larzac. However millau viaduct is still the highest bridge in europe. The tallest bridge in the world is the millau viaduct. Millau viaduct 10 facts on the tallest bridge in the. The millau viaduct is a magnificent example, in the long and great french tradition, of audacious works of art, a tradition begun at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by the great gustave eiffel. Being described as one of the greatest engineering endeavors of all times, the millau viaduct proudly continues the rich history of viaducts from roman times to present day. He has signed several other famous buildings, including the millennium bridge in london.
So it looks like wed have to stay overnight near millau. Nov, 2015 millau viaduct has a deck height of 270 m 886 ft and ranks 15 in the list of highest bridges in the world. It is the tallest bridge in the world with one of its masts as tall as 343 meters. 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. The millau bridge or viaduct as it should technically be known as provides the final missing link in the a75 autoroute ultimately connecting paris to barcelona. The bridge goes over the millau valley and the river tarn. The millau viaduct a75 motorway bridge over the river tarn. Marseille to millau viaduct 5 ways to travel via train, bus. The toll booths are located a couple of kilometres north of the viaduct. Sidu river bridge in china is the highest bridge in the world with a height of 496 m 1,627 ft.
The millau viaduct is a cablestayed road bridge which spans the valley of the river tarn situated alongside the township of millau in southern france. In an anglofrench partnership, it was designed by the french structural engineer michel virlogeux and english architect norman foster. It looks like it takes an entire day roughly eight hours to travel by train from paris to millau. The bridge is very tall, very interesting, and has an amazing history.
Opened in 2004, the spectacular cablestayed viaduct spanning the valley of the tarn river near millau in southwest france, is definitely, as the michelin guide says. It is located in southern france, and is the highest bridge in the world. When not in her books, she dreams of the world where chocolate chip cookie. In preroman times it was condatomag, a celtic community. With a maximum height of 1,125 feet, it is the tallest bridge in the world. The millau viaduct is the fruit of a long process initiated in 1987, which ended in december 2004 with the delivery of the bridge. By building an aqueduct to cross a gap 2460 m long and thus span the tarn valley in aveyron. The motorway is free, but there is a toll charge for crossing the viaduct. Millau viaduct the millau viaduct is located on millau and creissels, france. Millau viaduct holds the world record for the tallest bridge, culminating at 343 metres higher than the eiffel tower, 2460 metres long and touching the bottom of the tarn valley in only 9 places.