Millau Viaduct
The Millau Viaduct (French: Viaduc de Millau, IPA: [vja.dyk də mi.jo]) is a multispan cable-stayed bridge completed in 2004 across the gorge valley of the Tarn near (west of) Millau in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie Region, in Southern France. The design team was led by engineer Michel Virlogeux and English architect Norman Foster. As of October 2023, it is the tallest bridge in the world, having a structural height of 336.4 metres (1,104 ft).
Millau Viaduct | |
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A view of the Millau Viaduct in 2005. | |
| Coordinates | 44°04′46″N 03°01′20″E |
| Carries | 4 lanes of the A75 autoroute |
| Crosses | Gorge valley of the river Tarn |
| Locale | Millau-Creissels, Aveyron, France |
| Official name | Viaduc de Millau |
| Maintained by | Compagnie Eiffage du Viaduc de Millau |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Multiple-span cable-stayed viaduct motorway bridge |
| Material | Concrete, steel |
| Total length | 2,460 m (8,070 ft) |
| Width | 32.05 m (105.2 ft) |
| Height | 336.4 m (1,104 ft) (max pylon above ground) |
| Longest span | 342 m (1,122 ft) |
| No. of spans | 204 m (669 ft), 6×342 m (1,122 ft), 204 m (669 ft) |
| Clearance below | 270 m (890 ft) |
| Design life | 120 years |
| History | |
| Designer | Dr Michel Virlogeux, structural engineer |
| Constructed by | Compagnie Eiffage du Viaduc de Millau |
| Construction start | 16 October 2001 |
| Construction cost | € 394,000,000 |
| Opened | 16 December 2004, at 09:00 hrs |
| Inaugurated | 14 December 2004 |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | from € 8.30 |
| Location | |
The Millau Viaduct is part of the A75–A71 autoroute axis from Paris to Béziers and Montpellier. The cost of construction was approximately € 394 million ($424 million). It was built over three years, formally inaugurated on 14 December 2004, and opened to traffic two days later on 16 December. The bridge has been consistently ranked as one of the greatest engineering achievements of modern times, and received the 2006 Outstanding Structure Award from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering.