On which it is equipped highway. This incredible structure has its own unique features that attract tourists. Find out more about the dimensions of this building, as well as other useful information, you can from this article.
Reasons for construction
The Millau Viaduct connects the French capital Paris and the small town of Beziers. Even at the time of the creation of the project, many were surprised at why such an incredible structure would be built that would allow access to this small settlement. The reason lies in the fact that Beziers is located great amount educational institutions, elite schools, colleges and the like.
People come here from Paris every day, and therefore it was extremely necessary to create a good road. The city of Beziers is also noteworthy for tourists who want to enjoy swimming in the Mediterranean Sea during the hot season. Only twelve kilometers will have to travel from this settlement to the coastal zone. That is why Beziers, despite its size, is an extremely popular place.
Second target and surrounding area
Traveling to Béziers is not the only reason for the construction of the Millau Viaduct. The main problem was the transport interchange that leads to the south of the country. National highway number nine could not cope with the load and was often subject to incredible traffic jams. People could wait for hours to move on. This did not suit the tourists, who wasted time. They could spend it on sightseeing in France.
Along with them, ordinary workers on trucks were forced to stand in traffic jams, which negatively affected their schedule. That is why the decision was made to build a viaduct called Millau, which is one of the types of bridges.
Today this building attracts not only tourists, but also photographers from all over the world. Incredible surrounding views of the Tar River valley allow you to choose the most beautiful angles. People all over the world happily buy such images to decorate their workplaces. The most pleasant picture for tourists is the moment when clouds gather under the bridge. They cover the supports, and it seems as if the bridge is floating in the air.
Information about the bridge and its construction
Famous masters of their craft were involved in the construction of the Millau Viaduct. The first was the Frenchman Michel Virlojo, an engineer by profession. He has already made a name for himself thanks to many projects, including the Pont de Normandie, an equally impressive structure.
He was joined by the architect from England Norman Foster, winner of many awards for his work. When all the issues were clarified and contracts between the government and the design company were concluded, active work began. Already in mid-December 2004, the highest bridge in the world, the Millau Viaduct, was opened and fully ready for operation. Its width is 32 meters and its length is 2.5 kilometers.
Until now, this building is one of the industrial wonders of the world, which attracts a huge number of tourists. This is a great merit of the world-famous architect Norman Foster for his revolutionary solutions. It was he who rebuilt the Reichstag in Berlin almost from scratch in the form in which it was before its destruction. In this way he restored one of the symbols of Germany.
Data about the design company: difficulties in work
In addition to Norman Foster and Michel Virlogeau, the merits of the design company Eiffage in the construction of the Millau Viaduct should be noted. Its size is truly impressive, but it couldn’t be otherwise when real masters get down to business. The name of this organization has already thundered throughout the world thanks to the construction Eiffel Tower. This calling card of France gave the company an excellent reputation. This became possible thanks to the efforts of Eiffel and his design school.
It took exactly three years to bring Milhaud’s project to life, which were far from the easiest. In the process of work, craftsmen repeatedly encountered various problems. In describing the design of the Millau Viaduct, it should be mentioned that the supports had to be developed separately due to the landscape where they were to be installed.
Under the bridge there is a gorge that separates two plateaus. When constructing the viaduct, it was necessary to calculate the load in individual places and create unequal supports. One of them is as much as 25 meters thick at the base and tapers significantly at the transport roadway.
Delivery of materials
The length of the Millau Viaduct is 2.5 kilometers and the width is 32 meters, which has already been said before. It has an eight-lane road surface, which weighs a total of 36 thousand tons. With a three-degree slope and a 20 km radius of curvature, drivers have excellent visibility when traveling across the bridge.
To ensure complete safety with such parameters, it was necessary not only to design each support separately, but also to extremely accurately calculate the diameter and load resistance in each section. It was precisely because of its enormous size that during the construction of the bridge we encountered another difficulty - the delivery of materials.
The viaduct's main support has sixteen sections, each weighing 2.3 tons. A vehicle that could deliver such materials to this area simply does not exist. That is why they were divided into parts of 60 tons and each was delivered separately. If you imagine that seven supports with a minimum height of 77 meters were divided into parts, it is difficult to even imagine how much time was spent on delivery. Don’t forget about the pylons, which are 97 meters high, as well as 11 pairs of cables.
Route
The A75 highway is currently actively used by residents of the capital and other people. It passes through this viaduct, and therefore deserves special attention. Its construction began back in 1975, but it was completed only after the appearance of the tallest bridge in the world. The A75 is considered a complement to the A71, which leads from Orléans to the city of Clermont-Ferrand.
First of all, its task was to redirect part of the traffic flow from the Rhone River valley. As mentioned above, tourists and trucks were often stuck in traffic jams here, and therefore the creation of an alternative route was extremely necessary.
If you take the A75 highway, you can get to the south of France quickly, since the road to the region is the most economical. The 340-kilometer-long route is completely free to use. The second important task was to connect Northern Europe with the Paris region and simplify travel to the Mediterranean coast and Spain as well.
Records
The legendary viaduct simply could not help but get into the Guinness Book of Records. The design set three world standards at once, the first of which is the highest placement of the roadway. The most high point above the ground - 270 meters, and this is considered a record.
There are two more bridges that could claim this title. The first one is located in Colorado, USA, and is called Royal Gorge Bridge. The second can be seen in China, where it connects to the banks of a river called Siduhe. The structure in the USA is located at an altitude of 321 meters, but there is a catch in the types of bridges. It is intended for pedestrians, and the structure in China is located on a plateau, and the height of the supports there is much lower.
Another record belongs to the height of the support together with the pylon. The figure of 343 meters exceeds even the Eiffel Tower, which already speaks of the status of this viaduct.
The third record belongs to supports P2 and P3, which are the highest in the world - 244.96 and 222.05 meters, respectively. These facts alone are enough to visit this viaduct.
Criticism during construction
It is worth noting that during the development of the Millau Viaduct project, there was sharp criticism from the public. In France, the possibility of building something truly legendary is often questioned. This was the case with the Eiffel Tower in Paris, as well as with the famous Sacré-Coeur basilica.
Opponents of the construction spoke publicly and said that the bridge would be unsafe. They cited possible shifts at the bottom of the gorge as arguments. The second argument was that the expenditure of resources would never pay for itself. At the same time, the presence of a detour could negatively affect the tourism industry in the city of Millau.
They even said that it was simply illogical to use such technologies on the A75 highway. Only the individuals responsible for the construction were ready for this, and they gave their explanations to a huge number of negative concerns. The wave of protests did not stop even after this, and for three years activists continued to insist on their position.
A win-win solution for everyone
The Millau Viaduct (France) was built in three years, and 400 million euros were spent on it, which is already an incredible amount. There is a toll to cross this bridge, as it was erected at the expense of the design company mentioned above.
If over 78 years of operation they can earn 375 million euros from it, then the viaduct will become the property of the state free of charge. If this does not happen, then the government will have to compensate for all losses. During the season, additional lanes are even opened at the toll point so that 16 cars can drive through this wonderful structure at the same time.
Forecasts indicate that the Eiffage design company will not be able to recover costs. Only this won’t put a big dent in their budget, and the viaduct is a confirmation of their capabilities. That is why money is not too important here.
Last week I flew to Europe and the main purpose of the trip was the cable-stayed bridge in the village of Millao. This is the French wilderness 250 kilometers from the border with Spain. We were just coming from Spain, from Barcelona. This is a total of 400 km distance. This is one of the highest and most long bridges in the world.
Now a little about the bridge itself - it is a hellishly grandiose structure. The length of the roadway is 2460 meters. The width is 32 meters, the height of the highest pylon (P2) is 343 meters from the ground. The height of the Eiffel Tower is 324 meters. This miracle was built in 2004, you can see how it was built on Discovery or National Geographic, I don’t remember exactly where I looked.
It is located on the A75 highway, from Barcelona go straight and left :).
Photos in the album “Millo Viaduct” P adlik on Yandex.Photos
Border between Spain and France. Or rather its absence. You drive and drive, no brakes, no checks. I didn’t even take any documents with me.
The roads in France, and even in Spain, are gorgeous. On the highways the speed limit is 130 km/h (110 in the rain). But most of the route - toll roads. In total, the round trip costs about 50 euros. They accept cards, so everything is simple.
Entrance to the bridge from the south. Limit 110, 3 lanes, no walking allowed.
Of course, we missed the turn to the observation deck. Here's the left path. I had to do it backwards.
It’s near the observation deck, where you can eat and buy souvenirs. Parking is free. There are a lot of people in motorhomes.
Observation deck. There were clearly very few Russians here; there were no characteristic inscriptions anywhere. The French and Germans sometimes come across.
The village of Millau itself. The bridge was built to prevent traffic jams from paralyzing this village in the summer.
The support that is closest is the highest.
Support and cables.
Everything is surrounded by a fence especially for the curious. You can't get through anywhere. Another observation deck is also visible between the supports.
The Millau Viaduct is the world's tallest bridge structure for transport, rising above the Tarn River valley, near the city of Millau, in the south of France. The cable-stayed bridge has three records in its arsenal - as the owner of the highest bridge support (244.96 meters), the tallest mast crowning the support (343 meters) and the highest road surface of a transport bridge, lying at an altitude of 270 meters above the ground. The Millau Viaduct holds the status of being one of the greatest engineering achievements of all time and was honored with an award presented by International Association road and bridge construction.
Being part of the A75 high-speed highway, this structure serves as the shortest route from Paris through the city of Clermont-Ferrand to the Mediterranean Sea, in particular to the city of Beziers, which is located in the south of the state, 15 km from the sea coast. Before the construction of the Viaduct traffic between southern France, Spain and the rest of the French cities, plying through the Tarn River valley had some problems - during the holiday season the section suffered from congestion and was filled with traffic jams for many kilometers. Over time, the appearance of a bridge over the valley became the only way out of the situation, which would shorten the journey by 100 km, reduce the load during the holiday season, and also protect the city of Millau from pollution caused by continuous traffic jams.
The first ideas regarding the construction of the Viaduct began to be discussed in 1987. In July 1996, the jury decided to build a cable-stayed bridge with several spans, as proposed by a consortium consisting of the companies of the French engineer Michel Virlogeaux and Norman Foster, an architect from England. The project was implemented by the French design company Eiffage, which includes the workshops of Gustav Eiffel, who built the famous Eiffel Tower. By 2001, a large-scale project had already been formed and its implementation began. Huge supports were initially erected, along with temporary intermediate strips, to make installation a little easier. Engineers connected the roadway from both sides at once - attaching sections one after another using specialized equipment.
The bridge structure took almost three years to build - its official opening took place on December 14, 2004.
The engineering wonder of the world is a roadway 2,460 meters long and 32 meters wide, standing on seven concrete supports, one of which is almost 20 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower. In total, the bridge structure has eight spans, the two outer ones are 204 meters long, and the six central ones are 342 meters long. The bridge is made in the shape of a semicircle - its radius is 20 kilometers. The total weight of the Viaduct's steel deck is 36,000 tons. A special screen has been installed on both sides of the highway to protect motorists and the Millau Viaduct from strong gusts of wind.
The condition of the French record-breaking bridge is regularly recorded using a variety of sensors that measure tension, temperature, pressure, acceleration, etc. Initially, the speed limit on the Millau Viaduct highway was limited to the standard limits - up to 130 km/h, but it was soon reduced to 90 km/h in order to reduce the likelihood of accidents, because... Drivers often slowed down to enjoy the surrounding scenery.
The cost of construction of the highest transport bridge in the world was approximately 400 million euros.
The main competitor of the Millau Viaduct for the title of the tallest bridge on the planet is the Royal Bridge, located in the Colorado Gorge in the USA, which lies over the Arkansas River and has pedestrian status. Its height is 321 meters, making it the tallest pedestrian bridge in the world.
Engineers suggest that the minimum service life of the Viaduct is 120 years. Held annually testing work, examining the fastening of bolts, cables, condition appearance so that the bridge is always in excellent condition.
Cost of driving a car on the Millau Bridge highway in summer period(July-August) is 9.10 euros, the rest of the year - 7.30 euros, for trucks - 33.40 euros all year round, for motorcycles - 4.60 euros all year round.
On December 14, 2004, a bridge across the Tarn River, which was named Millau, was opened and remains in operation to this day. The name of the viaduct was given in honor of a city located nearby in the south of France in the department of Aveyron. The Millau Viaduct is structurally the tallest bridge in the world, with the longest pier.
Millau is a cable-stayed bridge. It consists of 7 supports on which pylons are installed. Cables (cables) from each pylon support the road surface.
The length is 2,460 m. It crosses the entire Tarn Valley, which has a difficult climate and landscape.
The maximum height from the ground surface to the road surface is 270 m. The maximum height from the ground surface to the peak of the pylon is 343 m.
The tallest bridge on the planet is 32 m wide. This made it possible to organize four-lane traffic, two in each direction, and also make two reserve lanes. The metal, but relatively light road surface (36,000 tons) is covered with special asphalt concrete.
7 pylons with a height of 88.92 m are located on supports immersed 15 m into the ground. The height of the supports is different due to the difference in the height of the valley landscape. It varies from 77.56 m to 245 m.
The structure uses 154 cables, 22 cables on each pylon. The shrouds are protected from corrosion by being waxed, galvanized and encased in polyester.
The bridge is equipped with sensors that make it possible to record every deviation from the norm and any shift with micrometer accuracy. Telephony and communications also enable viaduct maintenance staff to quickly perform their functions at any point.
The bridge deck has a slope of 3.0025%, rises from north to south, and also has a curvature with a radius of 20 km. This is done for the best visibility for drivers
Construction of one of the supports.
Viaduct under construction.
The photo shows the rise and curvature of the bridge for a better view of drivers.
Another comparison with the tower
Diagram of the Millau Bridge and dimensions.
Facts about the Millau Viaduct
- The viaduct passes over the Tarn River, the valley of which is characterized by a harsh climate and varied terrain.
- Construction took three years and was completed on December 14, 2004, ahead of schedule.
- The authors of this building are architects Michel Virlojo and Norman Foster.
- The highest point of the bridge is 343 m from ground level, this is the peak of the pylon. This is higher than (324 m) and only 40 m lower than the Empire State Building in New York.
- The bridge is equipped with the highest support in the world - 246.96 m. The previous record belonged to the Tulle and Verrières viaduct - 141 m (also across the Tarn River).
- The height of the support with the pylon is 343 m and is also a world record.
- The Millau viaduct has the highest transport roadway in the world - 270 m from the ground. Adjacent to it in this title is the Royal Gorge Bridge (USA), the road of which is located at an altitude of 321 m, but this is a pedestrian bridge.
- The viaduct connects Paris and the southern part of France, becoming part of the route to the Mediterranean Sea, Spain, Portugal, as well as northern Europe.
- The Millau Viaduct is the highest bridge on the planet from a structural point of view - the height from the ground to the road surface is 270 m, and to the peak of the pylon 343 m. But there are bridges that are located higher from the surface of the earth than Millau. For example, the bridge over the Sidukhe River (China) is 472 m from the ground. However, its pores are not located at the bottom of the gorge, but are located on the nearest hills, plateaus and other hills. And the Millau supports are located directly at the bottom of the gorge. Syduhe is the highest bridge in the world in terms of clearance between the roadway and the ground. Millau is the highest in terms of support height.
Panorama of the Millau Viaduct.
History of construction
Construction began on October 16, 2001. During the first three years The foundation was laid and all supports were installed.
On February 25, 2003, builders began building the road surface. With the help of hydraulic jacks, which were controlled via satellite, the canvas was pulled out through the supports at a speed of about 150 mm/min. During the construction process, the canvas was supported on temporary supports. On May 28, 2004, the construction of the roadway was completed.
At the end of the same year, all seven pylons were raised, covering the road surface with asphalt concrete began, and the temporary supports were completely dismantled. Tests were carried out in November 2004.
One of the main wonders of the industrial world is the famous Millau Bridge, which holds several records. Thanks to this gigantic bridge, stretching over a huge river valley called Tar, uninterrupted and high-speed travel is ensured from the capital of France, Paris, to the small town of Beziers. Many tourists who come to see this highest bridge in the world often ask the question: “Why was it necessary to build such an expensive and technically complex bridge that leads from Paris to the very small city of Beziers?” The Millau Viaduct was built with the sole purpose of relieving congestion on the national highway, which constantly experienced huge traffic jams during the season, and tourists traveling around France, as well as truck drivers, were forced to stand in traffic jams for hours. It is worth noting that travel through the viaduct, which “floats above the clouds,” is paid, which does not in any way affect its popularity among drivers Vehicle and guests of the country who came to see one of the most amazing wonders of the industrial world.
Bridge characteristics
The Millau Viaduct Bridge comprises an eight-span steel roadway supported by eight steel piers. The weight of the roadway is 36 thousand tons, width is 32 meters, length is 2.5 kilometers, depth under the bridge is 4.2 meters. The length of all six central spans is 342 meters, and the two outer ones are 204 meters long each. The road has a slight gradient of 3%, descending from the south side to the north, it is built with a curvature of 20 kilometers in order to give drivers best review. Traffic flows in two lanes in all directions. The height of the columns ranges from 77 to 246 meters, the diameter of one of the longest columns is 24.5 meters at the base, and at the road surface - 11 meters. Each base consists of 16 sections, one section weighs 2.3 thousand tons. The sections were assembled on site from individual parts. Each individual section has a mass of 60 tons, is 17 meters long and 4 meters wide. Each support supports pylons that are 97 meters high. First, the columns were assembled along with temporary supports, then parts of the canvas were moved along the supports using jacks, which were controlled from satellites. The speed of movement of parts of the canvas was 600 millimeters in 4 minutes.
The legendary Millau Viaduct, which every self-respecting bridge builder knows about and which is considered an example of technological progress for all mankind, was designed by Michel Virlajo and the architect Norman Foster. The latter, by the way, was involved in the reconstruction of the Berlin Reichstag. True, knights and barons british queen produced N. Foster was not produced for this. N. Foster's talent made the Millau Viaduct one of the modern wonders of the world.
In a well-coordinated tandem, the Eiffage group, N. Foster and M. Virlajo developed the Millau Bridge, which was inaugurated on December 14, 2004. Just two days after the event, the first cars drove along the final link of the A75 highway. It is interesting that the first stone for the construction of the viaduct was also laid on December 14, 2001, and the start of large-scale construction started on December 16, 2001. Apparently, the builders planned to coincide the opening date of the bridge with the start date of its construction.
Despite the fact that the project was involved best architects and engineers, building the highest road bridge in the world was extremely difficult. By and large, there are two more bridges on our planet that are located above Millau above the surface of the earth - the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado in the USA (321 meters above the ground) and the bridge connecting the two banks of the Siduhe River in China. True, in the first case we're talking about about a bridge that can only be used by pedestrians, and in the second about a viaduct, the supports of which are located on a plateau and their height is not comparable with the supports and pylons of Millau. It is for these reasons that the French bridge is considered the most complex in its design and the highest road bridge in the world.
How it's done
Some supports of the A75 terminal link are located at the bottom of the gorge that separates the “red plateau” and the Lazarka plateau. To make the bridge completely safe, French engineers had to separately develop each support: almost all of them are of different diameters and clearly designed for a specific load. The width of the largest bridge support reaches almost 25 meters at its base. True, in the place where the support connects to the road surface, its diameter noticeably narrows.
To the workers and architects who developed the project, during construction work I had to face a whole host of difficulties. Firstly, it was necessary to strengthen the places in the gorge where the supports were located, and secondly, it was necessary to spend quite a lot of time transporting individual parts of the canvas, its supports and pylons. Just imagine that the main support of the bridge consists of 16 sections, the weight of each of them is 2.3 thousand tons. Looking ahead a little, I would like to note that this is one of the records that belongs to the Millau Bridge.
Naturally, there are no vehicles in the world that could deliver such massive parts of supports. For this reason, the architects decided to deliver parts of the supports piece by piece (if that's the way to put it, of course). Each piece weighed about 60 tons. It is quite difficult to even imagine how much time it took the builders just to deliver 7 supports to the bridge construction site, and this does not even take into account the fact that each support has a pylon just over 87 meters high, to which 11 pairs of high-strength cables are attached.
However, delivering construction materials to the site is not the only difficulty the engineers faced. The fact is that the Tar River valley has always been distinguished by a harsh climate: warmth, quickly giving way to piercing cold, sharp gusts of wind, steep cliffs - only a small part of what the viaduct builders had to overcome. There is official evidence that the development of the project and numerous studies lasted just over 10 (!) years. Work on the construction of the Millau Bridge was completed in such difficult conditions, one might say, in record time - it took builders and other services only 4 years to bring the plans of the project authors to life.
The road surface of the Millau Bridge, like its project itself, is innovative: in order to avoid deformation of expensive metal surfaces, which will be quite difficult to repair in the future, scientists had to invent an ultra-modern asphalt concrete formula. The metal sheets are quite strong, but their weight relative to the entire gigantic structure can be called insignificant (“only” 36 thousand tons). The coating had to protect the canvas from deformation (be “soft”) and at the same time meet all the requirements of European standards (resist deformation, be used for a long time without repair and prevent so-called “shifts”). Even with the use of the most cutting-edge technologies, it is impossible to solve this problem in a short time. The composition of the roadway was developed for almost three years. By the way, the asphalt concrete of the Millau Bridge is recognized as unique of its kind.
The Millau Bridge - harsh criticism
Despite the lengthy development of the plan, well-calibrated solutions and big names of architects, the construction of the viaduct initially aroused sharp criticism. By and large, in France any construction is subject to sharp criticism, just remember the Sacré-Coeur Basilica and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Opponents of the construction of the viaduct said that the bridge would be unreliable due to shifts at the bottom of the gorge, that it would never pay off, that the use of such technologies on the A75 highway was unjustified, that the bypass route would reduce the flow of tourists to the city of Millau. This is only a small part of the arguments that ardent opponents of the construction of a new viaduct addressed to the government. They were listened to and every objection was given an authoritative explanation. However, the opponents, which included some influential associations, did not calm down and continued their protests almost the entire time the bridge was being built.
How much did it cost
The construction of the most famous French viaduct, according to the most conservative estimates, took at least 400 million euros. Naturally, this money had to be returned, so travel on the viaduct was made to be paid: the point where you can pay for “a journey through the miracle of modern industry” is located near the small village of Saint-Germain. More than 20 million euros were spent on its construction alone. At the toll station there is a huge covered canopy, the construction of which took 53 giant beams. During the season, when the flow of cars on the viaduct increases sharply, additional lanes are used, of which there are 16 at the “passport”. At this point there is also an electronic system that allows you to track the number of cars on the bridge and their tonnage. By the way, the Eiffage concession will last only 78 years, which is exactly how long the state has allocated to the group to recoup its expenses.
Most likely, the company will not even be able to recover all the funds spent on construction. However, such unfavorable financial forecasts are viewed with a grain of irony within the group. Firstly, Eiffage is far from poor, and, secondly, the Millau Bridge served as further proof of the genius of its specialists. By the way, talk that the companies that built the bridge will lose money is nothing more than fiction. Yes, the bridge was not built at the expense of the state, but after 78 years, if the bridge does not bring profit to the group, France will be obliged to pay the losses. But if Eiffage manages to earn 375 million euros on the Millau Viaduct earlier than in 78 years, the bridge will become the property of the country free of charge. The concession period is, as already mentioned, 78 years, until 2045, but the group of companies gave a guarantee for the bridge for 120 years.
Driving along the four-lane highway of the Millau Viaduct does not cost exorbitant sums, as one might think. Driving a passenger car along the viaduct, the height of the main support of which is higher than the Eiffel Tower itself (!) and only slightly lower than the Empire State Building, will cost only 6 euros (in season - 7.7 euros). But for two-axle trucks the fare will be 21.3 euros, for three-axle trucks - almost 29 euros. Even motorcyclists and people traveling on the viaduct on scooters have to pay: the cost of traveling along the Millau Bridge will cost them 3 euros and 90 eurocents, respectively.
(from open sources)
