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Millau Viaduct

Millau Viaduct

Norman Foster & Michel Virlogeux

Photo: commons:User:Mike Switzerland · CC-BY-SA-2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Tarn gorge, Millau, Aveyron, France
Client / Owner
Eiffage
Year
Completed 2004
Access
Tickets required
Style
—

The Millau Viaduct is a multiple-span cable-stayed motorway bridge over the Tarn gorge near Millau, carrying four lanes of the A75 autoroute. Norman Foster and the engineer Michel Virlogeux led the design team. Construction began on October 16, 2001, and it opened to traffic on December 16, 2004, ahead of schedule. The article names no style, and says concrete and steel were used.

It is 8,070 feet (2,460 m) long and 105 feet (32 m) wide. The tallest pylon is 1,125 feet (343 m), and the deck runs about 890 feet (270 m) above the valley on average. Six central spans of 342 meters link seven pylons. The article says it was the world's tallest bridge for over two decades, until late 2025.

Eiffage built it for 394 million euros and may collect tolls until 2080. The speed limit was cut from 130 to 110 km/h because tourists slowed to take photos. It won the 2006 IABSE Outstanding Structure Award.

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