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Millau Viaduct

fosterandpartners.com

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Re: Millau Viaduct

#61

Post by divbzero »

cyprien_g wrote: post #2

I live a 2-hour drive from this, so I have driven on it several times. It's very impressive and always a nice part of the journey. And it's not only beautiful, it's also very useful. Before it was built, you had to go through small roads and villages, which, in addition to taking more time, was not very comfortable for the people living there.

I have wondered why the Millau Viaduct was built instead of a highway that descended into the valley. The descriptions in this thread make the reason clear.

Re: Millau Viaduct

#63

Post by I_complete_me »

lucianbr wrote: post #41
Sammi wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doing a bit of googling it seems people report saving anything from 20 min to 1 hour by taking the bridge. But during some particular holidays, where there is lots of traffic, the saving can become 4 hours.

I suppose the 4 hours saving comes from a lot of people being on the non-bridge route, meaning a lot of people choose to not take the bridge. Is there any other possible reason for the 4 hours saved?

I'd say that gephyrophobia is a legitimate one. I mean, I for one would be terrified to have to cross it.

Re: Millau Viaduct

#64

Post by alexey-salmin »

jollyllama wrote: post #39

Everything I can find about it is overwhelmingly positive but I'd be interested to hear some counterarguments. I've never seen it in person, but to me, it is a bit too angular and brutalist. Something with a more arched styling could have been nice, if it was technically feasible.

I like and appreciate bridges in general and I'd say in a clear weather it's "just" a big beautiful bridge. However when the clouds fill the valley the view becomes unreal (like the photo in the referenced article).

First time I was there it was sunny. Second time it was so cloudy that I couldn't see the bridge. But as I drove away I saw the fog clear up, so I went back, paid the toll second time and enjoyed an absolutely stunning view.

Re: Millau Viaduct

#65

Post by dtagames »

kergonath wrote: post #45
jollyllama wrote: post #39

Everything I can find about it is overwhelmingly positive but I'd be interested to hear some counterarguments. I've never seen it in person, but to me, it is a bit too angular and brutalist. Something with a more arched styling could have been nice, if it was technically feasible.

It is difficult to appreciate without seeing it in person, but considering its absolutely massive scale and that everything about it is just humongous, it blends in the landscape much better than it should. Sure, it is visible, but not overpowering. Norman Foster explained how he tried to blend it with the horizon and the sky and I think he did a fairly good job. The straight lines are unobtrusive. They are there, bu…

It's remarkable to think of a 100 story skyscraper towering over a town of 20,000 people. Yet that's what it is!

I agree that's surprisingly graceful and elegant and doesn't detract from the environment, which is quite an achievement. And audacious in the extreme.

Re: Millau Viaduct

#67

Post by jrussino »

cpa wrote: post #24

High density (20 points per m2) LIDAR view from the French geospatial agency https://diffusion-lidarhd.ign.fr/visionneuse/?copc=https:%2F...

Wow, thanks! I feel like this resource deserves its own HN discussion. Bookmarking this to explore later...

Re: Millau Viaduct

#68

Post by futurix »

wmanley wrote: post #38

I visited it last year. It’s 2.4km long and at its highest point the Eiffel Tower could fit under the road. Remarkably the construction cost was only €394 million. For comparison the planned 4.2km Lower Thames Crossing has already cost £1.2bn (€1,400 million) just for the planning phase with nothing built. The French know how to build.

While our construction costs are indeed ridiculous, this number is incorrect. It hard to decipher which £1.2bn figure you are actually talking about - but none of them are for just planning (for reference: the contract for the northern connecting highways and the contract for the actual tunnelling are both for a similar amount of money; the total spend as of 2025 is also around the same amount but it includes initial payments on all contracts etc).

Re: Millau Viaduct

#69

Post by wmanley »

futurix wrote: post #68
wmanley wrote: post #38

I visited it last year. It’s 2.4km long and at its highest point the Eiffel Tower could fit under the road. Remarkably the construction cost was only €394 million. For comparison the planned 4.2km Lower Thames Crossing has already cost £1.2bn (€1,400 million) just for the planning phase with nothing built. The French know how to build.

While our construction costs are indeed ridiculous, this number is incorrect. It hard to decipher which £1.2bn figure you are actually talking about - but none of them are for just planning (for reference: the contract for the northern connecting highways and the contract for the actual tunnelling are both for a similar amount of money; the total spend as of 2025 is also around the same amount but it includes initial…

I got the 1.2B from the Beeb: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0mrm84wg4ko.amp

> Plans for the 14.5-mile (23km) route were approved in March after a 16-year process that has already cost £1.2bn.

Re: Millau Viaduct

#70

Post by lucianbr »

bobthepanda wrote: post #48
lucianbr wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suppose the 4 hours saving comes from a lot of people being on the non-bridge route, meaning a lot of people choose to not take the bridge. Is there any other possible reason for the 4 hours saved?

It's a substantially flatter, straighter line, and much higher capacity. The valley route is only a single lane in each direction with no grade separation at intersections and you are comparing that to a four lane freeway.

> people report saving anything from 20 min to 1 hour by taking the bridge. But during some particular holidays, where there is lots of traffic, the saving can become 4 hours

You thing during particular holidays the single lane somehow has even less lanes, less grade separation and such? That would be quite a phenomenon.

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