The MillauBridge, France

The Millau
Bridge, France

“It’s extraordinary…delicate
and minimalist…driving across
it would feel like f lying a car”
– Sir Norman Foster, Chief UK
architect on the project

Opened in 2004, this 2,460 metres (8,071 ft) long, large cable-stayed, multicolumn road-bridge spans the River Tarn valley near Millau in southern France and is a spectacular feat of structural engineering designed by French bridge engineer Michel Virlogeux and UK architects Foster and Partners. It is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world with one mast’s summit at 343 metres (1,125 ft) – slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower and only 38 m (125 ft) shorter than New York’s Empire State Building. Hold your breath as we plunge (metaphorically!) into the design, construction and mechanics of what was formerly le Viaduc de Millau. What to build and why? Before the bridge was constructed as part of the new Expressway connecting Paris and Barcelona, traffic had to descend into the Tarn River valley and pass near the town of Millau causing heavy congestion at the beginning and end of the summer holiday season, and was dreaded as a ‘great blackspot’ of motoring. Carrying two lanes of traffic and a safety lane in each direction, the bridge now traverses the Tarn valley above its lowest point, linking the Causse du Larzac to the Causse Rouge and is inside the perimeter of the Grands Causses regional natural park.

“There is not
enough money in
the world to entice
me to drive over
this bridge”
– A very cautious
motorist!

The road to construction was lengthy: 15 years in the planning with initial studies beginning
in 1988 as to whether a bridge or tunnel was the design solution. By June the following year, a bridge design was elected as having the least impact on the environment. In 1994 a restricted design competition began limited to submissions by five teams of architects and in summer 1996, the winning cooperative was announced which included Britain’s very own Foster & Partners. Sir Norman Foster said that the Millau Viaduct “illustrates how a collaboration between architects and engineers can result in a structure of breathtaking beauty,” adding that this beauty “lies primarily in its clarity of expression.”

The result
“We were attracted by the elegance and logic of a structure that would march across the heroic landscape, and in the minimal way would connect one plateau to the other,” Foster commented. “We were driven by the scale of the idea and a shared passion for the poetic dimension of engineering and its sculptural potential.” This meant, he said, that during the design process there were never any conflicts between satisfying structural demands and aesthetic ideas, because they evolved together. The design gives the impression that the bridge
piers had grown from the soil, in line with Foster’s conviction that “A work of man must fuse with nature.” With bridge construction costs upwards of €390 million, it’s no surprise that to help recoup some of the huge financial outlay, the viaduct operates as a toll bridge costing around €6-€7. Pay bridge or not, over 600,000 tourists have already paid their toll to take in the unparalleled 360º panoramic views… Those of you interested in seeing world records before your very eyes should pay a visit to the Millau Bridge before December 2009 when the Chenab Bridge in Kashmir, India will be completed at 359 metres high, making it the new world record holder in the tallest suspension bridge stakes by 16 metres. Where will it all end, we here you ask?...