Millau Viaduct

Millau Viaduct Viaduc de Millau  (French)
Millau Viaduct under construction
Coordinates	44°04′46″N 03°01′20″E / 44.07944°N 3.02222°E / 44.07944; 3.02222
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[1]
Characteristics
Design	Multiple-span cable-stayed viaduct motorway bridge[1]
Material	Concrete, steel
Total length	2,460 m (8,070 ft)[1]
Width	32.05 m (105.2 ft)[1]
Height	336.4 m (1,104 ft) (max pylon above ground)[1][2]
Longest span	342 m (1,122 ft)[1]
No. of spans	204 m (669 ft), 6×342 m (1,122 ft), 204 m (669 ft)[1]
Clearance below	270 m (890 ft)[1][3]
Design life	120 years
History
Designer	Dr Michel Virlogeux, structural engineer[1]
Constructed by	Compagnie Eiffage du Viaduc de Millau[1][2][3][4]
Construction start	16 October 2001; 23 years ago (2001-10-16)[1]
Construction cost	€ 394,000,000[2]
Opened	16 December 2004, at 09:00 hrs[1]
Inaugurated	14 December 2004; 19 years ago (2004-12-14)[1]
Statistics
Toll	from € 8.30
Location

The Millau Viaduct is a large bridge in Millau, France in the Département of Aveyron. It was designed by the French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux and British architect Sir Norman Foster. As of September 2020,^[update] it is the tallest bridge in the world, at 336.4 metres (1,104 ft) tall.^[5]

Before the bridge was built, people had to use the national route N9 near the town of Millau. This meant that there was a lot of traffic in July and August.^[6] The bridge now crosses the Tarn valley above its lowest point, linking the Causse du Larzac to the Causse Rouge, and is inside the Grands Causses regional natural park.

The bridge forms the last link of the A75 autoroute, (la Méridienne) from Clermont-Ferrand to Béziers. The A75, with the A10 and A71, provides a continuous quick route south from Paris to Clermont-Ferrand, Béziers and Spain. Many tourists going to southern France and Spain use this route because it is direct and has no tolls for the 340 km between Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers, except on the bridge.

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