The Millau Bridge

The Millau Bridge (officially Millau Viaduct) is a road-bridge spanning the valley of the River Tarn near Millau in southern France. It was designed by the British architect Norman Foster, working with French engineer Michel Virlogeux. It is the tallest vehicle bridge in the world. The highest pier has a height falling between that of the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State  Building. The viaduct is nearly twice as tall as the previous tallest vehicular bridge in Europe, the Europabrücke in Austria.

The  bridge was opened to traffic on 16 December 2004 and was built to relieve heavy congestion on the roads in the town of Millau (left) during the summer holiday season - it is the last section of the A75 motorway that leads to the Mediterranean coastal resorts.

In addition to being a major improvement to the road system in the region, the bridge has also received critical acclaim and become an immediate tourist attraction in its own right.

 Crossing it you don’t get much of a view because of the barriers and you are not allowed to stop on the bridge.  There is an information site on the north side of the bridge, that was closed when I crossed it but I believe you can get a historical perspective of the build. There is a viewing point high near the Information Centre where I took the pictures of the bridge itself  but the best views must be from the side or the town of Millau.

I did not get the time to travel to the town but I understand that you can have an easy ride by parking in the town centre and taking the tourist bus from the Tourist Information Office.  This will enable you to get the best possible views, photo opportunities and of course a running commentary on the construction from infancy to completion. I also understand that there is an official information site underneath the bridge where there is a little museum with photographs of the build, a film to show the progression of the site and various souvenirs to buy. Again I did not go to this site.

Statistics

Length: 2,460 metres

Width: 4 lanes, each 3.5 metres wide (2 in each direction)

Slope: About 3% (north to south)

Technical features:

The pylons are 343 metres (just over 1,000 feet) tall.

The deck lies 270 metres ( 800 feet) above the Tarn river.

The tallest pillar (concrete) holds the deck 245 metres above ground
85,000 cubic metres (or 205,000 tonnes) of concrete were used to make the pillars and abutments.
The steel deck weighs 36,000 tonnes (or five Eiffel towers).