The viaduct of Millau in Aveyron (France), is the highest bridge in the world. Opened on December 14, 2004 after 36 months of construction, the structure reaches a maximum height of 343 meters above the river Tarn, and a length of 2,460 m, between Causse and Causse du Larzac Rouge has 7 pillars of concrete, and the board has a width of 32 meters.
About 3,000 people worked on this project, which cost almost 400 million euros.
The Millau Viaduct was formally conceived the French engineer Michel Virlogeux.
Description
The Millau Viaduct consists of eight steel deck sections, which are based on seven concrete pillars. The roadway weighs 36,000 tons and spans of 2,460 meters, width of 32 m and a thickness of 4.3 m. The 6 interior sections of the viaduct are 342 m, while the two extreme measure 204 m. The highway has a slight slope of 3%, down north-south, and curves in a flat section with a radius of 20 km. The latter was intended to give better visibility to motorists. It has two traffic lanes in each direction.
The pillars have between 77 and 246 m and go to have a longitudinal section of 24.5 m at the base to 11 m at the top. Each pillar is itself made up of 16 sections, each of which weighs 2,230 tonnes and total bridge weighs around 350,000 tons. These sections were assembled at the construction site from pieces of 17 meters long, 4 meters wide and weighing 60 tons, which were manufactured in Lauterbourg and Fos-Sur-Mer by the construction company Eiffage. Pillars mounted first, along with a number of temporary supports, and prior to the placement of the beams, which were guided by satellite signals and set to a speed of 600 mm every 4 minutes. Millau Viaduct d
almost double the height of which until then was the world's tallest bridge, the Europabrücke, Austria. He also became the highest road bridge if one looks at the street level. The height of 270 m which is the same, more than 268 m bridge over the New River Valley in West Virginia, USA. The 321 m bridge over the Arkansas River than the Millau viaduct, but in this case is a pedestrian bridge.
location.
Construction of the viaduct construction began on October 10, 2001 and was extended over three years, but ultimately benign weather conditions allowed the study was conducted as scheduled. The viaduct was inaugurated by President Chirac on 14 December 2004 and open to the public two days later. Preliminary studies
During preliminary studies considered four options:
bypass Millau to the east, which would require two major bridges over the Tarn and Dourbie.
bypass Millau to the west, crossing A total of 12 km, which would require the construction of four bridges. Follow the path
National Route 9, which would provide good access to technical difficulties Millau but would also pass through the population.
Crossing the valley between.
This fourth option was chosen by the government on June 28, 1989. In turn, considered two different possibilities: the high resolution and low resolution, which would involve building a bridge of 200 m to cross the Tarn, followed by a viaduct of 2,300 m extended with a side tunnel Larzac. After lengthy feasibility studies, the low solution was abandoned because of its higher cost, environmental impact and because the distance for drivers is higher.
Having decided that the solution is the large, five teams of architects and engineers worked on simultaneously seeking a technical solution. Builders
General plan of the viaduct, with the town of Millau on the right.
The construction company that won the contract to build the viaduct was the Compagnie du Viaduc de Millau Eiffage. The construction consortium was made by the company Eiffage TP for the concrete sections, the Eiffel company for the laying of steel sections and the company Enerpac, who was in charge of the hydraulic supports the highway.
The engineering group Setec assumed responsibilities in the project, while the SNCF had partial control of it. The bid
, three consortia bid for the award of contract:
The first, led by English firm Dragados, in partnership with Skanska (Sweden) and Bec (French).
La Société du Viaduc de Millau, comprising ASF, Egis, GTM, Bouygues Travaux Publics, SGE, CDC Projets, Tofinso (all French) and Autostrade (Italy).
A third consortium, led by Générale Routière, with Via GTI (both French), along with Cintra, Necso, Acciona, Ferrovial Agroman (English).
The conceptual and structural design of the bridge is original work of the Frenchman Michel Virlogeux, while the architects responsible for aesthetic and formal aspects of the work belonged to the British firm Foster and Partners, led by Lord Norman Foster. Along with the above, was the Dutch engineering firm Arcadis, responsible for the technical design of the viaduct.
construction process is first built batteries that withstand the pylons in the final configuration of the bridge. The board construction was carried out at the ends. Using this technique, and as they build the cross sections, periodically pushed through the board on the batteries, leaving room for the placement of new bridge sections. To avoid overexertion that forced large increase over the section concerning the level of service, they set a series of intermediate propping so that the openings were for shorter runs during the construction phase. Once pushed the board from both sides and reached the junction, in solidarity both halves and placed stiffening towers. Finally, temporary propping withdrawn.
Costs and resources The total cost of construction of the viaduct was 394 million euros, to which must be added an additional EUR 20 million for the building toll booths, located 6 km north of the structure. The project
127,000 m³ of concrete used, 19,000 metric tons of steel for reinforcement of concrete and 5,000 tons of reinforced concrete. According to the construction company, the life of the viaduct will be no less than 120 years. Eiffage
funded the work in exchange for toll concession until 2080. Anyway, if the grant is to be very profitable, the French government can regain control of the concession in 2044. Data
2,460 m: total length of the viaduct.
7: the number of pillars.
70 m: height of pillar 7 the lowest.
336 m: height of the pillar 2, the highest (245 m to the level of the highway).
270 m: the typical height of the highway.
4.20 m: thickness of the road.
32.05 m: width of the highway.
127,000 m³, the volume of concrete used in the bridge.
290,000 tonnes: total weight of the structure
10,000 to 25,000 vehicles: estimated daily traffic.
4.90 to 6.90 euros, typical to pay tolls to cross the viaduct.
Project Chronology June 28, 1989: Adoption of the alternative government through the valley of the Tarn.
October 19, 1991: Selection of "high resolution" requiring a viaduct of 2500 m in length.
January 10, 1995: Declaration of utilité publique (public interest).
July 9, 1996: Choosing the type of bridge, suspended by cables.
1998: decides to hire a private consortium for the construction, giving the toll concession in return.
October 16, 2001: work began.
December 14, 2001: laying the first block.
January 2002: foundations are made of piles.
March 2002: start work on the pile C8.
July 2002: start working on the foundations of the temporary supports.
August 2002: start work on the pile C0.
February 26, 2003, is likely the last stretches of highways.
November 2003: the completion of work on the piles.
May 28, 2004: Segments of the highway are separated by a few centimeters, anticipating the end of the meetings in the coming weeks.
second half of 2004: the temporary supports are removed.
December 14, 2004: official opening.
December 16, 2004: the viaduct opens to the public.
January 10, 2005: Opening date.
2044: the French government can take over the toll concession, if it is very profitable. 2080
: ending session toll concession granted to the group Eiffage. Yoseph
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