The Millau Viaduct
The biggest bridge in the world
Millau bridge is the the tallest brigde in the world it is in southern france and crosses the river tran in the massif central montains at 300m (984 feet) it is the highest bridge in the world it opened december 2004. It was designed by the British architect Lord Foster the central pillar is higher the famous French icon, the Eiffel Tower.Its the most breath taking bridges ever built. The bridge took only three years to complete with new engineering techniques.The bridge's construction cost up to €394 million.
Bridges are often considered to belong to the realm of the engineer rather than that of the architect. But the architecture of infrastructure has a powerful impact on the environment and the Millau Viaduct, designed in close collaboration with structural engineers, illustrates how the architect can play an integral role in the design of bridges. It follows the Millennium Bridge over the River Thames in expressing a fascination with the relationship between function, technology and aesthetics in a graceful.
Constuction
The towers were built in the usual way, with steel reinforced concrete.
The road way was built on either side of the valley and rolled into position, until it met with precision in the centre. This technique had never been tried before and it carried engineering risks. However, it proved to be an efficient method of deploying the roadway.
Each pier is treated as a worksite in its own right so that the construction of the seven piers requires seven completely independent worksites.The geometry of the piers varies from one pouring step to the next following a succession of skewed surfaces and angles, evolving in a practically imperceptible fashion and which required constant adaptation of the formwork. The formwork was of the self-climbing type for the outer surfaces and craneassisted for the inner surfaces. The height of each pouring step was 4 m.
Toll
Currently drivers using it pay a toll of 6 Euros ($7.5). Set against this, however, it is estimated the bridge will allow motorists to save gasoline costs, as well as up to 34 Euros ($44) in toll fees, because their journey has been shortened by 37.3 mi. (60 km).
Safety measures on the bridge include provision of an emergency telephone every .31 mi. (.49 km) as well as a 24-hour surveillance system incorporating such features as video recording of traffic, weather stations, and programmable message boards.
Works cited
"The Millau Bridge - Southern France." The Millau Bridge - Southern France. Web. 20
Nov. 2014. <http://www.technologystudent.com/struct1/millau1.htm>.
"Highest, Longest : Viaduct De Millau." Highest, Longest : The Viaduct De Millau. Web.
20 Nov. 2014. <http://www.abelard.org/france/viaduct-de-millau.php>.
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