The Millau Viaduct is a multispan cable-stayed bridge completed in 2004 across the gorge valley of the Tarn near Millau in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie Region, in Southern France. The design team was led by engineer Michel Virlogeux and English architect Norman Foster. As of October 2023, it is the tallest bridge in the world, having a structural height of 336.4 metres (1,104 ft).
A view of the Millau Viaduct in 2005.
The four proposed routes for the new A75 autoroute around Millau
Satellite image of the proposed route before construction of the bridge
The northern half of the road deck being slowly launched across the pylons. View from the west in early 2004
A cable-stayed bridge has one or more towers, from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern or a series of parallel lines. This is in contrast to the modern suspension bridge, where the cables supporting the deck are suspended vertically from the main cable, anchored at both ends of the bridge and running between the towers. The cable-stayed bridge is optimal for spans longer than cantilever bridges and shorter than suspension bridges. This is the range within which cantilever bridges would rapidly grow heavier, and suspension bridge cabling would be more costly.
The Russky Bridge in Vladivostok has a central span of 1104 metres. It is the world's longest cable-stayed bridge.
Øresund Bridge from Malmö to Copenhagen in Sweden and Denmark
Chain-stayed bridge by the Renaissance polymath Fausto Veranzio, from 1595/1616. Prior to industrial manufacture of heavy wire rope (steel cable), suspended or stayed bridges were firstly constructed with linked rods (chain).
Abdoun Bridge, Amman, Jordan, example of an extradosed bridge
