12/8/2004: Millau viaduct
 

http://cellar.org/2004/millauviaduct.jpg

This is a new construction in southern France. The Millau viaduct will connect a new A75 motorway from Paris to Barcelona above the River Tarn and 2.5 km of valley below.

I had not seen this before and it is a thing of beauty. It's been under construction for about four years. It has the tallest bridge piers ever, thus once opened next month it becomes the highest bridge in the world.

Amazingly, it was privately funded. It will be a toll road.

more info

So France can make more than chocolate after all, huh?

That is a beautiful bridge.

wow, that is beautiful. it almost doesn't look real.

do they get earthquakes and such in France? i bet it won't be long before that bridge is featured in a disaster film or a chase scene, etc.

I think Billy posted an above-the-cloud pic of this bridge a while back but this shot shows just how dang high it is. Wow!

What it should look like when completed:

http://www.vicat.com/picts/inter/act...ansport1_a.jpg

That is so cool! It's amazing how they managed to design a structure that looks nothing like the surrounding environment, yet doesn't detract from it. Almost like how the Golden Gate Bridge makes the views in SF even more beautiful. Neat! :thumbsup:

Oboy.. The french police gonna have a lot to do when this thing is finished.
Basejumps,"hurry-to-the-next-world" guys,graffiti and oh.. ,this might
sometimes be OK, bungeejumping.

If that "riverpillar" is actually hitting the river, then they have a dam too. :)

There is a similarly structured, but much smaller, bridge that crosses the Delaware Canal.

I can't wait to go see this thing, it's an engineering marvel.
Of course the road that actually finishes the connection won't be done for a few more years, great planning work there.

"Of course the road that actually finishes the connection won't be done for a few more years"

They will cross that bridge when they get to it.

well done jbolty :notworthy

Somewhere I have pictures from inside the crane cab. All the amenities and a glass floor, too. :yelsick:

Think they'll allow fishing from the bridge? ;)

It looks like the future

What a beautiful valley that is.
Cant wait till its littered with 10,000,000 ciggarette butts from car windows, macdonalds packets and hub caps.