Posts Tagged ‘megastructure-bridge’

Millau Viaduct – The Awesome Megastructure

Sunday, September 30th, 2007

Millau Viaduct – The Awesome Megastructure

The tallest vehicular bridge in the world – Millau Viaduct traverses the valley of the River Tarn near Millau in southern France. The bridge with one mast summit of 343 meters (1,125 ft), slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower, is a terrific structure designed by French bridge engineer Michel Virlogeux and English architect Norman Foster. A part of A75-A71 autoroute axis from Paris to Béziers, Viaduct was inaugurated by former President Chirac on 14 December 2004 and opened to traffic after two days.

The construction claims to hold three world records. Viaduct has been credited as the highest road bridge deck in the world, situated at 270 meters above the Tarn River at its acme. The bridge also boasts of the highest mast in the world – the mast at 343 meters stand on top of pylon P2. Further, its pylons P2 and P3 hold the record for being the tallest in the world, 244.96 meters and 221.05 meters in height respectively. One of the finest architectural works in creation, Millau Viaduct was depicted exclusively in an episode of ”MegaStructures” series in National Geographic Channel.