This plagued the infrastructure of the valley, namely the R oute Nationale N9 that passes near the town of Millau. It often caused heavy congestion and much disruption for locals. Something needed to be done and so an announcement was made in to build the viaduct to relieve pressure on local roads. Virlogeux just so happened to be a bridge specialist who, up to this point, had designed no less than bridges. These included the Pont de Normandie in northern France.
Foster, on the other hand, a prolific British architect, was considered one of the most accomplished architects of his generation.
In he was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize , often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture. The combination of a visionary architect and a highly accomplished structural engineer was considered the perfect mix to achieve the ambitious project.
The viaduct's actual construction was entrusted to the construction company Eiffage. As we have already alluded to, the viaduct's main claim to fame is its impressive height. It stands at meters and is most famous for being the tallest bridge in the world. This makes her head and shoulders above her closest competition , the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge in Istanbul Turkey meters and the Russky Bridge in Russia meters.
She is a cable-stayed, concrete and steel construction viaduct motorway bridge that spans the Tarn gorge valley near the town of Millau in Southern France. She cost somewhere in the order of million Euros to build and officially opened for business in Hydraulic jacks on the tops of the piers were then synchronized to move the entire deck out over the valley in small increments of about 2 feet mm.
Both sides eventually met over the Tarn river. To make this method work, massive temporary intermediate piers were built to prevent bending of the thin deck since the cable stays and masts above the roadway would not be erected until the entire deck was in its final position. The only exception to this was for the two river spans where the masts and several of the stays were erected on land and went along for the ride across the piers before finally meeting feet mtrs above the Tarn River.
Other technical advancements that are less obvious to the eye include an array of movement and motion sensors including anemometers, accelerometers, inclinometers and extensometers. Data collected from these devices will help engineers pinpoint potential trouble spots and unwanted wear and tear that could shorten the life span of the many bridge components. The tall, slender piers have an unusual elegance from a narrow opening that gradually splits the column into two before closing up again within the mast above the road deck.
The roadway has a slight curve that adds a third dimension of shape to the structure and offsets the boredom of repetition. The designers even made the best of an unfortunate requirement to install a tall wind barrier along the edges of the roadway with a stylish aerodynamic shape that still allows for a fantastic view of the valley beyond. As a nearly perfect blend of art, architecture and engineering, the Millau Viaduct will continue to inspire not only the public but future engineers who are continually challenged by the demand to create beauty and grace within the confines of functionality and cost.
Image by Chris Lilley. When it opened on 17 December , Millau Viaduct set new standards in both planning design and construction, as well as the record as one of the largest cable-stayed bridges in Europe. The Millau Viaduct rest area, which can be accessed from the A75 motorway or from Millau via the D and the Boulevard du Viaduct roads, was inaugurated in July The viaduct reached a threshold of five million vehicles for the first time on 29 December Two major challenges were identified in building the structure, namely crossing the River Tarn and spanning the huge gap from one plateau to the other.
The solution proposed is unique using seven pylons instead of the typical two or three. It is several metres taller than the other famous French landmark, the Eiffel Tower. It has been designed to look as delicate and transparent as possible.
Each of its sections spans m and its columns range from 75m to m in height over the river Tarn. It uses the minimum amount of material, which made it less costly to construct, namely the deck, the masts rising above the road deck and the multi-span cables are all in steel.
The seven piers of the Millau Viaduct are sunk in shafts of reinforced concrete in a pyramidal shape and divided in an overturned V. The shrouds are anchored and distributed in semi harps. The programme utilised hundreds of high-pressure hydraulic cylinders and pumps to push-launch the deck spans in place and a PC-synchronised lifting system to lift the auxiliary piers.
Enerpac was awarded the major contract to supply the hydraulic system for lifting and pushing the bridge spans and piers for the bridge. Interestingly, the Millau Viaduct is not straight. Roadways were finished on May , pylons and shrouds in the second half of the and the viaduct was opened on 16 December - 25 days ahead of schedule. President Jacques Chirac opened the bridge during the opening ceremony. This bridge broke several records. It has the highest pylons in the world meters and meters , the highest bridge tower in the world meters and the highest road bridge deck in Europe meters.
Metallic deck has a total mass of around 36, tonnes, length of 2. Six central spans have length of meters while two outer spans are meters. There are seven masts, each 87 meters high and weighting tonnes each.
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