The characteristics of the viaduct

Published on 4 March 2008

**Two "Eiffel Towers" built by Eiffage in the Tarn valley**

(Courtesy of Eiffage)

An exceptional engineering structure:

world height record, with pylons reaching 343m.
height of the deck above the Tarn: 270m
height of the largest pier (concrete): 240m below the deck
total length: 2,460m. The multiple cable-stayed spans of the Millau viaduct - with 2 traffic lanes in each direction - will have only 9 points of contact with the ground.

In all, the bridge will have 8 spans (6 of 342m and 2 of 204m) resting on 7 piers and supported by stay cables fixed to seven 90m pylons.

Surface area of the concrete piers: 200m² at the level of the foundation footings: 30m2 under the deck:

Advanced technological solutions: a very thin metal deck supported by stay cables and resting on 7 very slender high performance concrete piers.

The profile of the structure is also original as the very gentle gradient (3%) that climbs from the north to the south curves slightly so motorists will gradually become aware of the structure as they approach it.

Find out more :

A steel and concrete viaduct (Format pdf - 121 kb - 04/03/2008)
The quantities (Format pdf - 103.7 kb - 04/03/2008)
Other structures in the world (Format pdf - 103.7 kb - 04/03/2008)