The highest bridge in the world has been shining in the south of France for ten years

Millau/Praha - Basic information about the Millau Viaduct, a road suspension bridge near the southern French town of Millau and the tallest bridge by deck height (343 meters) on the tenth anniversary of its opening (December 14):

— Pillar P2 is still the tallest bridge pylon in the world at a height of 343 meters, incidentally 19 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower. By deck height, the second tallest bridge in the world is the newly built Bridge to Russky Island, which opened in 2012 in Vladivostok, connecting the city with the adjacent island at a height of 321 meters.
— The Millau Viaduct is currently the 14th tallest bridge in the world in terms of height above ground level (270 meters above the Tarn River), but it still holds the top spot in Europe from this perspective. The highest bridge in the world by this criterion is the Siduhe Bridge in China at a height of 496 meters, constructed over the Sidu River in central China’s Hubei province in 2009.
— The elegant structure connects sections of the motorway between Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers and significantly shortened the connection between northern France and the Mediterranean and Spain. Thanks to it, traffic jams that regularly formed in Millau during the summer, which were a nightmare for all drivers, have been eliminated. The journey across the bridge is faster and about 100 kilometers shorter than the previous route through the valley.
— The bridge is the work of renowned British architect Norman Foster and French bridge engineer Michel Virlogeux. Their study won the competition in 1996.
— The bridge was constructed in a record time of three years, fully financed by the French company Eiffage, which holds the concession for its use until 2080. This company, which provided a hundred-twenty-year guarantee on the bridge, is the successor of the firm that built the Eiffel Tower in 1889. Its construction cost €394 million, equivalent to more than 11 billion crowns.
— The foundation stone was laid in December 2001, and by November 2003, all the pillars were completed. During the three-year construction, not a single worker lost their life or was seriously injured. The bridge was officially opened on December 14, 2004, by then French President Jacques Chirac, and normal operations began here two days later.
— The bridge is 2460 meters long and weighs 290,000 tons. It is supported by seven slender concrete pillars (the lowest is 77 meters, the highest is 343 meters), with pylons holding steel cables from which the 32-meter-wide roadway is suspended.
— There is a toll for crossing the viaduct: six euros (7.5 euros in summer) for a passenger car and 21 euros for a truck.
— The speed limit on the bridge was reduced from 130 km/h to 110 km/h because many cars slow down here and take photos of the bridge while driving.
— The bridge has received several awards.