American Blown Away by the Millau Viaduct: The World's Tallest Bridge
Vložit
- čas přidán 28. 11. 2022
- original - - • Millau Viaduct: The Wo...
TIP JAR - - - - - SuperThanks Button :)
This will help improve the channel greatly, New webcam for better videos, Wheel for the hotlaps, or you can just buy me a cold drink 😎 I APPRECIATE YOU
Send us Stuff!! 😋 IWrocker 5225 Harrison Ave PO box # 6145
Rockford, IL 61125
Discord - - IWrocker CZcams - - / discord
LIKE and Subscribe! Join One of the BEST & wholesome Communties on CZcams, with tons of Variety in content for You to Enjoy.
*TimTam collection Record Holder
*Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS
French engineer, British architect. The spirit of Concorde is not dead.
Millau was a ruined town due to traffic, in the summers you would spend several hours trying to get through. The buildings got grey from the exhaust gasses in that constant gridlock. But if you visit now it all changed! Best thing that could've happened for the inhabitants.
I drove there before the bridge against the main traffic direction and it was bad enough. I visited the bridge and stood at the foot of a pylon which is really something. But given the height and the size of the bridge it is quite sleek on the other hand.
People from the area here, and fully agree! Just to add to French legendary stereotype, there was of course part of the Millau population that was AGAINST this bridge... Worried about ending with a ghost town and having all the local economy collapsing while everybody would drive above their heads. Of course it was a wrong assessment (fear is not a good advisor as we say in French). Interesting to notice also that the toll is so expensive (around 8 euros to save 30min) to take the bridge, that there is now again a traffic problem in Millau....even if it is nothing compare with what it was of course.
Oh yes. Back in the 70's, 80's, by the time your car moved, you could go and buy groceries and possibly treat yourself to a pastis in Millau. A tourist nightmare, along with Fourvière tunnel in Lyon.
@@Spiffo12 Whitout or with this bridge, local economie was dead since long time ago. The local economie is just based on summer tourism ( trekking, rafting, canyoning, base jump ect ) and with the 13 DBLE at " la cavalerie" ( Demi Brigade de la Légion Etrangère ).
Venez donc chez nous pour voir le vieux monde, grottes, châteaux et villages fortifiés templier ( la couvertoirade). Entendre les cigales en buvant un pastis local et l'accent du sud.
Proud to be a french redneck.
Ven aqui, miladioú
I have driven on it twice. Once during daytime. Stunning, but as people here point out, the view is blocked, it's almost a normal road view. But, the second time, I drove on it at night, and this was magical. You get the eerie feeling of being sandwiched in mid air between sky and river (even though you don't see any of it), because the sky, the perspective, everything just blends into the night. It was awesome.
As a Dutch kid and almost always having gone to Spain for holidays we almost always drove over the Pont du Millau bridge. It was always a spectacular sight but oddly enough you dont realize it when youre actually driving across it. It is smooth, looks amazing and is a work of art. It was always a special moment to cross the bridge.
They did put up these guards so that you don't see too much while driving over it precisely to avoid people stopping and enjoying the view - it is a highway, after all.
Wait why would you drive thought Millau to go to Spain?? 😮
"pont" means "bridge" in french, so you should say "pont du Millau" or "Millau Bridge" but not "pont du Millau bridge"!
@@jonasweber9408 Why not ? It's pretty direct, and this highway is free, you only have to pay for the bridge, but it's much cheaper.
@@YannR34 ah ah okay 👍 yes it’s a good option, not the quickest apparently
You also have Perpignan along the way and the area it pretty beautiful, you must had a blast of vacations 🙂 take care
Hi from Brisbane, Australia. I had the great pleasure to drive over this masterpiece in 2017 while on holidays in Europe. Had previously watched 2 documentaries on its construction and put it on the bucket list when planning my trip.
Wow that’s awesome 😎 🎉
So, how did you find our country ? (My family is from Tarn and Aveyron, and my Girlfriend from Clermont/Vichy).
I remember when this bridge was being built. When I was a kid we drove from the Netherlands to the south of France, and we came across this construction site. It was incredible to behold, it was almost like stepping into a sciencefiction movie. We sadly never drove over the bridge when it was finished.
I am French and I have driven across this bridge only once, years ago, coming from the south. It's a great feeling knowing you're on it, but you realize how amazing it is if you stop at the big parking and rest area after it, after the road bends, it is situated where you can take a photo of the whole bridge and be in awe at the height. When you see it you go: wow.
As french we are very proud about this bridge we have so many good civil engeener is crazy you can see the tunel under the chanel the effel tower, the normandie bridge the tunel under the mont blanc, the tunel Lyon-Turin
Don't forget Norman Foster. ;-) Michel Virloguex and Norman Foster, the spirit that made Concorde remains,
That was before our educational collapsed and we get almost the last rank in mathematics in the developped countries before Argentina...
While our engineer schools are still there, not sure we have enough of those engineers.
I live in this area.
I used to take the road from north to south at least 2 times a year and it was quite a trip. Passing through Millau could took 1h and now 5 min above.
As I had friend living in Millau I went there quite a lot and saw the bridge being built : impressive.
And yes, this is as much a marvel of engineering as it is beautiful.
Cheers from France
Salut ami rouergat
Occitàn libre MDR
Simon Whistler has to have the busiest voice on CZcams. Multiple channels with him as the narrator/host with content being pumped out almost daily. Oh, and the bridge? A stunning piece of architecture.
Fact boy taking over the internet.
Fun fact ; Viaduc Millau video was a proposition i've done ! (:D i've spammed videos for weeks and he did deliver !)
Very passionated about it since my uncle worked on it !
yeah innit, i see him everywhere and has done for years
Spent a month in this area at St. Rome du tarn in 2015 and enjoyed several rides (bicycle) along the gorge du tarn. Yes it's impressive from on top but from underneath it is absolutely massive. Greetings from Australia.
Hi from Paris, France ! I'm very surprised to see how you're drifting away from F1 reaction videos (in a good way). I assume most French people have been on the Millau Viaduct on their way to the south (mainly for holidays). It is indeed pretty impressive to drive on, you can also find some viewpoints in the area from which you can take some nice photos of the viaduct 😌
Most Parisian people then.
If you are from all the south except Languedoc-Roussillon and Auvergne or Pays-de-la-Loire, Bretagne, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté or the eastern part of Grand-Est, it's quite unlikely that you have had to cross it.
@@noefillon1749 True i guess i'm mostly speaking on behalf of Parisians. I don't know how common it is for provincials to cross it
@@firebblak I am not a good example as I lived in French Guiana most of my life, but now and for 3.5 years, I have been living in Toulouse and Lyon. I never crossed this bridge.
@@firebblak Mostly northerners I would say then. I'm from Nice, If I go to the viaduc, It would be more on my way to the north haha
@@firebblak i'm in the north and i think most people up there have been on it since you have to get past paris to get to the south!
I watched a doco on the construction of this bridge, and don't quote me, but when the two halves met the tolerance difference was only a few millimetres. This astounded me considering the length of the span, the varying height of the valley floor, and the fact that it curves.
That is so fascinating! Great accomplishment for sure 😎
If you could do tunnels to meet within a few feet hundred years ago with no direct sight why should this be difficult? There has a long time passed and precision navigation is a feature of our time.
@user-sm3xq5ob5d Because it is curved, 300 metres from the ground and they PUSH each piece, adding another piece from either side to meet in the middle!
@@IWrocker Also the town "Millau" is actually pronounced mee-yo.
'au' = o / 'i' = "ee" / 'll' can be an "l" or "yuh" sound in French.
Interestingly, the metal structure division of Eiffage, was founded by the famous French engineer Gustave Eiffel. They have quite a record track of ...record braking constructions. 120 years before Millau viaduct, and only 100km away, Eiffel built the very elegant Garabit viaduct, at that time the highest viaduct in the world. Just one of the numerous metallic bridges and buildings constructed in Europe by Eiffel. Should I mention also a famous tower, that bears his name in Paris, 43 years long the tallest building in the world, or the most famous statue in the world, standing on Liberty Island in NYC? A true tradition of innovation!
If you’re amazed by the precision of the alignment, wait until you hear that the bridge is actually slightly curved ! As far as I know, it’s meant to keep drivers focussed on the road and/or avoiding a sort of vertigo (combined with the fact that you can’t look over the side railings).
This bridge really is a beauty when you see it from the sky (yes, I have been tempted to fly under it !)
The curvature of the bridge was also a statement about its beauty.
Bridge: yes, you can ride me while rinsing your eyes and checking out my amazing sexy curve.
French here, been to Millau as a child.
Under the bridge, there is a museum that gives more details about the construction and the story of this bridge.
It's worth a visit !
Oh nice. Is it near the north or south end of the Tarn valley?
I visit the South of France since 1965. I remember driving with my parents over the Route National roads in the era before the toll high ways. Even during the built of the Millau viaduct with lots of congestion on those roads. I drove over the viaduct several times and sadly as a driver you have no real opportunity to enjoy the landscape, because nobody wants a car accident in the middle of that viaduct. But also that is forseen, there is a very nice touristical viewpont at the North side of the viaduct.
We camped in Millau a few weeks and had a look from under the viaduct too. That's impressive too looking up those giant towers and knowing there are driving trucks and cars on top of that. I hope to cross it next summer again.
As every French I know the Millau Viaduct but I had no idea about the story and how this structure was built. Kind of cool that I learn that thanks to someone across the Atlantic :) Thanks for the video!
As a truck driver from Estonia i have driven over this bridge countless times
Estonia! jesus that a lot of driving
@@niaraa8378 indeed. but i love trucking
Hi Ian, Dave in France here. I've visited this site twice and on both occasions I was just in total awe of what Man can achieve when we all pull together. It is so technically excellent, so beautiful, so inspiring. In the bottom of the main valley there is a visitors centre with pictures and videos of how the project was accomplished.
I've driven over it in my mini. Top Gear do it in 3 super cars, clarkson does a comparison between the cars and the bridge. the bridge wins, its an epic piece of engineering.
In this episode, they explain that this bridge is clever too as it can rise or fall by as much as 10 feet depending on the temperature and season!
Here’s the link:
czcams.com/video/HvaSqSCJaK0/video.html&feature=share
Because you're so high up you can literally not see the horizon from your car but only the bridge. It's like you're driving thru the sky. It's an unearthly feeling really :)
I knew someone who was on the engineering team, friends who bungee jumped from it and I went there.
I'm a French civil engineer having graduated in 1997. A schoolmate of mine was hired in the engineering team and he told us a funny story : the height of the highest pillar had still not been precisely calculated but it was to be around 330 meters, the precise height of the Eiffel tower : they purposefully chose an option that would go higher : it's 336,4 meters (remember it's the same company that was one of the contractors for the bridge and that had constructed the Eiffel Tower).
I remember from when I was a kid the huge Millau traffic jams... When the bridge finally opened, I went to see the bridge on purpose, making a long detour to see it on my way from Lyon to Montpellier : I drove on it, then I exited the motorway and went down in the valley to see it from the bottom, then drove up again to go over the bridge in the opposite direction, then exited the motorway to see it from the bottom again from another point of view, then finally drove on again. It was amazing!
Btw : when you drive on the bridge, you don't really see the valley bellow because there are those quite high walls on each side to protect the vehicles from the high winds. It is still very impressive though.
I have friends who operate a bungee jumping company. As a challenge and a publicity stunt, they went on the bridge just before it was opened and bungee jumped from it. It was of course illegal and they got arrested, but they didn't suffer a big penalty.
And by the way : not only the Millau area is stunningly beautiful, but I recommand to eat specialties of the area : it is one of the many places in France where the food is really awesome.
I've driven several times over this bridge. Sadly you cannot stop and enjoy a look over the landscape. It seems to never end, like the Gotthard tunnel in switzerland^^
there's a parking at the start of the bridge . and you can walk from there to a viewpoint .
They were afraid people would stop mid bridge because of the stunning views and cause accidents on a hard to reach and expensive piece of infrastructure. So they blok the view from the bridge. (source: An article in an engineering magazine I read when it was build.)
There are viewpoints though.
@@mennovanlavieren3885 i believe suicide was also one of the reasons
And it costs 8 euros to cross??? wtf
@@nathantorresstanevil6958 the stupid tunnels (westerschelde tunnel or liefkenshoektunnel) are almost the same price. driving on toll roads in france is not cheap. driving from belgium to spain will be around 120 euro in toll only when driving a normal car without trailer. it only goes up
Fun fact: if you were to stand at the top of Millau's tallest pier (343 meters) you would actually look down at the Eiffel Tower (330 meters)
I take this bridge about a dozen times per year. the toll is €11... Definitely worth it, as it saves about 2h driving time, compared to the old national road going down the valley. This bridge was inaugurated in 2003, local people complained that none would ever stop in the city, thus killing local tourism economy. Well, the exact opposite happened, as this "landmark" brings extra tourists.
It is absoltely non-freaky to drive over it, as wind screens prevent sight of the void/drop. Also, mesas around the viaduct are frequently in a foggy weather, and when approching the bridge, it looks like an airport runway... 😀
yes it is a work of art, my father worked on it he was quantity surveyor (métreur in french [architects]) on this project.
I've been on this and also under it: you may not stop your car on this so it's more impressive from down under even though the view is _magnifique_ up there undeniably. Also Millau is known for being the world capital of paragliding.
I drove across this in 2013, and yes, it is way more impressive in the flesh. It's huge!
I've actually lived 30km near this incredible viaduct in France, and there's a nice feature nobody really knows about : the curvature of the bridge is made so that it appears straight when you drive through it. A straight bridge would look smaller and smaller the farther you look at the road, but that isn't the case on this bridge.
@IWrocker I once flew from Marseilles to Rennes, and the route was over Millau. Even at cruise altitude, the bridge is perfectly visible from the sky in the sunset light. Impressive
I visited the bridge in summer camp. It's forbidden to stop on the bridge, but there's a small museum at the base of one of the pillars.
It's truly a magnificent sight, I think the only other building that had this kind of impact was the sagrada familia in Barcelone ; although the Viaduc de Millau and the cathedral have only size in common.
Your comments made the original video even more interesting, it's like cinema: you get to discover something along with someone and their reactions amplifie yours! Loved this video
About 20 min drive from Millau, there's the town or Roquefort when they make the famous cheese. Interesting to visit too.
Hey frenchie here, actually I cross this amazing bridge when I'm paying a visit to my godmother. There is enough space on the side of the road to prevent you from seeing the ground near the bridge. There is a often fog aswell and in winter (sometimes), you can see snow on both side of the bridge, but actually there is none beneath it.
A very nice region, with GOOD FOOD and A LOT of Cops watching your behavior on the road.
Before inauguration the place was already a brand new sightseeing location and now people are coming from all across Europe and beyond to cross the bridge or get a picture like with the Golden Gate in San Francisco.
Absolutely incredible! Thank you Ian for sharing this video with us, I learned a lot and was just as amazed as you were while watching. Also glad to see you’re sipping on some Bundaberg ginger beer, I’m from Brisbane and have been to the bundy distillery.
Good eye 😉 Bundaberg is the best, going to their distillery someday is a goal for me 👍🎉
Hi Ian. I'm am Aussie (Ballarat) and I ventured to France by myself in 2011. I hired a car in Calais and typed Bruges into the GPS. Next thing I know I'm lost and have travelled 4 hours in the wrong direction. Next thing I know the ground dropped away from me and I was driving over air. As someone who has a fear of heights, I can say that this was very scary. I drove in the middle of the bridge. When I made it to the other side I realised that I would have to do it again in order to get to my destination in Belgium. I made it to Bruges at 11pm, couldn't find anywhere to stay, so I slept in the car. It was a great adventure. Oh and by the way, apparently there is a suburb of Marseilles called Bruges!!
there is a bruges in suburb bordeaux.
That seems to be a very long drive before you realize you're in the wrong direction; the distance from Calais to Bruges in Belgium is only 110 kms to the northeast, whereas the distance from Calais to Millau is no less than 900 kms to the southeast.
@@jfrancobelge It was my first time overseas and to be honest I was just enjoying the drive and the sights and the time and the km's just flew by before I noticed
@@jfrancobelge it seems that he drove on the Pont de Normandy, not on the Viaduc de Millau
Une banlieue bordelaise porte aussi le nom Bruge
Hi from France 🇫🇷. I used to use it as an alternative of the A7 highway and the strangest thing is that you don't notice the bridge when on it. You have to stop and look at it from far away to be aware of the amazing prouesse.
I love this engineering kind of video. I’ve seen it prior. But I’m enjoying your commentary. And yes I’ve driven across the viaduct too
In real life, it's *unfathomably* huge.
Like, you see skyscrapers and they're already huge
Now put them on their side, stack 3-4 of them, 1 in height, and that's *just* a bridge
You never expect a bridge to be this tall and long, it's impressive
Thanks, you made me learn a new word!
In summer 2003 there is a Teknival (french giant free or "rave" party in France) near the worksite of this bridge (the first legal teknival in France) , the site of the party was just a 700 meters of the bridge himself but we can't approch him for security
En été 2003 j'ai fait un énorme teknival juste a coté du chantier de ce pont , ce fut le premier teknival légal en France (surnommé d'ailleurs "sarkoval" puisqu''il a fallu l'autorisation du ministre de l'intérieur sarkozy pour ce faire ...)
Millau had a great bakery. we were leaving dad in the car , in the traffic jam, go to the bakery with mom , get a lot of treats , and wait for dad outside the village .
Having driven across this bridge on a number of ocassions, I can tell you that the view isn't that great because of the side barriers. It really doesn't matter though because the impression that wonderful bridge gives you when you first see it for real is breathtaking.
If you ever get the chance to cross it, make sure you cross it (at least once)on a clear night. You can stop at the end of the bridge .. look up and you will see the most stars you have ever seen. An incredible engineering masterpeice.
Thanmk you for showing this Ian :)
Every two years they stop the traffic to organize a running around Millau that passes on the bridge, great experience but no feeling of height.
I have been driving on it a lot of time. Leaving Montpellier at the end of the night. You arrive on it in the beginning of the day. Stop at the parking!
The pillars don't seem to exist, hidden in the fog of the valley. The bridge seems to be in levitation... Unforgetable sightseeing.
Impressed by a bridge lining up lol.
Wait until he finds out about how they dug the channel tunnel, his head will explode into a million pieces.
It is an impressive bridge though, drove over it once.
There also is a discovery channel documentary about this bridge. Megastructures or some program like that. Very interesting and crazy engineering for sure.
I was a kid (in France) when it was inaugurated and never realized until i watch your video that it was that impressive but mad respect for the engineers.
hi. sorry for my English...
if you went to this bridge, I advise you to travel across in north south way. I think it's the best point of view with the curve of the bridge.
after crossing it, exit the highway and return to Millau by the local road and you find the museum of the construction of the bridge.
after that, and to continue the ride, go to the Millau town, take a place to a restaurant and try "aligo saucisse"... Enjoy the moment and make a little sleep... 😂
you are now ready to travel the rest of the old world!
That reminds me of the tunnel under the channel (Eurotunnel). It was built from France and from UK at the same time. And once again the alignment was nearly perfect.
I passed the viaduct to go south, the view was incredible over the valley.
Great video keep doing this
There is also a story on the bridge Toll station on one side. It was a technical world premiere as well as the roof is a massive single sheet of fiber reenforced concrete without steel bar. It was set all at once. Impressive.
The bridge is not straight, it has a curvature radius of 20km, which made it more difficult to build but more beautiful. There are stop areas before the bridge, with viewpoints from which you can see it better than driving through. It gets magical when you have fog below and the pillars look just like ships sailing above the valley. In the beginning lots of neighbors were against it, afraid of how it would look like, now the population is generally very proud of it. Rightfully so!
I drove on it once. As a driver it's hard to enjoy the view and the crossing does not last long ! Much less impressive than I anticipated. My wife was dead scared though :D
For 🇺🇲 viewers, there is a fun fact @ 1:48. On the map shown, on the highest point of the black and blue roads, there is a village named Séverac le Château (Castle at Séverac might be an accurate translation).
This location is the birthplace of Marquis de Lafayette, a French warrior who fought with Americans against England for USA independancy back in the eighteenth century
I live very close to this bridge, in The Aveyron. I cross it often - even to the extent that I hardly notice it now! There are a few points to clarify. Firstly, the traffic flow on the A75 is still low. For some reason, people prefer the routes to east and west so the toll has nearly doubled. Still, it's the only toll between Clermont Ferrand and The Med.
Next, the bridge supports are NOT in a straight line. From above they form a shallow "C", thus gaining additional stability.
The view from the bridge is not good. There are wind deflectors along both sides which somewhat obscure the view and because of its height, the bridge is often in the clouds.
It is only fair to add that since completion I have never experienced the bridge being closed, so "chapeau"!
P.S. Come to the Aveyron! Peace, calm, forests, lakes, - always friendly, never crowded, beautiful climate.
I'm crossing it at least 4 Times per year in the past 17 years. Still amazed.
Good video, hi from France
This bridge is f.. awesome. I remember there was an episodes of top gear where this bridge was the final destination of the episode. 3 gorgeous cars driving over this amazing bridge, now that’s an episode, so many cool shots of the cars and bridge
It also made the live in Millau way more comfortable. Traffic jams at each holiday season were a nightmare.
That was a time where France had a lot of megaprojects (the Channel Tunnel was completed in 1994, the Viaduc de Milleau in 2004, several TGV lines were also in construction).
Very enjoyable Ian 🇦🇺👍🏼.
I travelled through Milleau many times before and having used the bridge several times since, I can testify that not only is it a miracle of engineering but is a major improvement in the journey time and makes it quite an exciting experience.
I used to cross that viaduct a lot when going back and forth from Paris to Montpellier, it always was spectacular, but I never realized how high that was, you don't realise that when crossing it
We love when English speakers pronounce French words with their accent. So charming 😎😍
I'm a french southern man. I live between Gard and Herault department. I go often to Millau. I remember the construction of this bridge, viaduc. And its inauguration in 2004.
Great video, thank you for posting this. Aside from the incredible engineering accomplishments, the fact that this bridge was paid off in 3 years is mind boggling!!
When I grew up, my parents lived south of Millau, my grandparents north of it. We went there almost monthly. I saw the viaduct rise almost month per month, and I had something like a magazine to build a paper model of it during the construction. The model featured an Eiffel Tower, to scale, to show how the viaduct is higher than the eiffel tower.
When it opened, it cut off the time to travel past Millau by over an hour. Outside of holidays/summer. Now, going through Millau rather than the viaduct only adds something like 20 minutes and the town looks much nicer.
The name of the town is pronounced like "me yo" (\mi.jo\). The toll for the viaduct went from around 5€ during high season (july/august) in the first years to be over 10€, and people still favor it rather than going through the city.
I crossed this bridge a few times, and it always feels impressive. That being said, given how high up it is, they close the viaduct if there is too much wind. Also a base jumper died a few days ago jumping off it, his chute didn't open.
I knew it used to be the longest bridge in France but didn't know it was the tallest one in the world.
I've lived in the village south of the Viaduct (Saint Georges de Luzençon) for 20 years, and lived in Millau for 10 more years, so I saw all the project from the beginning to the end.
One of the 4 ways was in fact litterally going through my village and required to demolish hundred brand-new houses (not inculding mine, but the highway would have been very close). Fortunately, this way was not the one that was chosen.
The A75 highway has always been considered a joke for many years because nobody would have believed it would've been possible to make an highway in the worst mountainous terrain possible. But with a lot of money and skill, it became a reality. The main success of this highway is that it is completely free, excepted for the section of the Millau Viaduct. And it is true that the success of the Viaduct made it very profitable year after year. The A75 highway is now totally complete from Paris to Montpellier excepted... in Montpellier, because poor city planning made the junction a completely urbanized area, and building the last section of the highway here would need to erase thousand houses, buildings and routes.
One of the worst thing I hear about the Viaduct is his name : english-speaking individuals just can't name it correctly. Millau is not spelled "Milo" but "Mi-yo". It comes from the roman colony it was, Amiliavum, the city of Aemilian / Emilian /Emilien. Also, the real city name is Milhau, which is the occitan version of Millau. The pronunciation is exactly the same, as the -lh in occitan is pronunciated -ye. In french as in occitan, the L is never pronunciated in this case (it is a mute letter).
Well, about tourism, the Viaduct definitely removed the giant traffic jams we has, the worst one being the year before it opened, with a giant complete traffic jam from Aguessac to La Cavalerie (30 kms). But many tourists who had the habit to halt in the city in their travel to the south of Europe in summer just now go to the Viaduct without stopping in the city anymore, which makes the city itself less frequentated. The consequence is that many small shops just closed year after year, and the city is stagnating in population due to poor career possibilities, low university studies available, low-paid jobs.
The workers who build the Viaduct were mostly NOT from the Millau area, who would have been incapable of having such a numerous workforce. They came from all over Europe, especially eastern countries, and massively established in Millau, which saturated the local rent market. The rent prices skyrocketed. When most of the workers left after the Viaduct was done, it made a huge decrease on the local population, leaving hundred appartments and houses just empty. If, on the short term during the construction, the Viaduct created many jobs in contruction, nowadays many argue that on the long-term, the city itself has created very few new jobs. The real jobs creation were in fact on both sides of the Viaduct, in La Cavalerie on the Larzac Plateau, and in Saint-Germain near Millau. The two cities benefited from the new highway proximity which made the South of France, Spain and Italy very easily to reach by truck.
So, how does it feels to drive on the Millau Viaduct ? Do you feel vertige ? Not at all. In fact, you don't see below your car (the road is not in glass !) and the sides of the highway make it very comfortable. The Viaduct itself is equipped of very high curved anti-self-killing barriers who prevent people from jumping, but also to avoid strong winds to destabilize trucks ; however, many base-jumpers manage to jump from the bridge and open their parachutes every year, which is strictly forbidden, and unfortunately when their parachutes don't have a disfunction, they crash at the bottom. It happened a few days ago. Base-jumpers are a real danger as they can fall on other people below, but also create a real danger for the highway users : there is no place to park any car in the Viaduct, so they park in the middle of the highway, with other users arriving at 110 km/h. Notice that all the base-jumpers are always prosecuted by the police when they reach the ground.
The Viaduct was done to last for a century at least, which means one day we would need to rebuild it. In fact, the structure is very closely watched by experts in real-time. The Viaduct was tested in resistance before opening. The test was done on each of the 7 pîllars, and consisted in loading 30 trucks with 26 tons of raw materials each, totalling 780 tons, and made of those trucks moving on one side and the other, or parking those trucks during 45 minutes to measure the structure deformation. All those tests were done to see if the Viaduct was okay to support a giant traffic jam of hundred fully loaded trucks. The structure deformation had to be 31 millimeters max, and the measures showed only 2 millimeters.
Another thing you don't mention is that the Viaduct is not flat, but has an inclination of 74 meters between the North and the South (3.025%). It has been done to allow users to see the whole structure and road ; otherwise they wouldn't see the end of the Viaduct ; but it was also done to compensate the height geographical difference between the two plateaus it links.
Every time I see the Viaduct, its white and elegant structure in the blue sky, it reminds me of a sailing ship, it is very beautiful. But it is only at the bottom of its pillars that you will realize of big it is. The highest pillars is 300m-high, there's a small road and a small bridge at the bottom (perfect spot to appreciate its dimensions !). The small bridge you noticed on your video is on fact a service access route, it allows technicians and engineers easy access to the whole lenght of the Viaduct. This route wasn't there before. It also allows Millau firemen easy access in case of accident / bushes fires / other reasons if anything falls from the bridge.
I hope you'll see it one day with you own eyes, unfortunately there is not big city around so you'll have to flight to Montpellier or Clermont or Lyon and drive a lot.
(Sorry for my poor english, I do my best lol but as I told you, there are no Universities in Millau lol)
*_No worker fatalities were reported throughout its construction_* To me that is the most astounding thing about it.
An amazing bridge in Millau, I saw a documentary on the building of it some years ago, then 11 years ago I actually drove down there and drove over it and visited the " visitor centre " , it was absolutely amazing to see. You can also drive further round the edge of the valley to another viewpoint where you can park and view the whole bridge across the width of the valley from a distance of maybe a mile or so.
Crossing the viaduct feel like flying, man
I'm french and every vacation, we go across it ! We always stop right before to rest before the breathtaking sights !
I live in Millau so you can imagine how happy i was when i Saw this vido.
I remember the excitement driving through the viaduc the first time. Unreal!!! Men can't build cathedrals or pyramids no more but this is a true modern engineering wonder
The view upthere is incredible … but you can't stop once you're on the bridge and stand there to shoot a couple of pics ! …
I drive there about twice a year and each time the road is great … and the bridge awesome… from there go to Millau and take a coffee or a beer at one of the city's café in a very calm and typical south of France town. Beautiful.
Thanks for the video !
Last year driving to spain , right on the bridge a "small eagle / falcon " started doing circle over my car driving around 100km/h , and fall diving toward the road ... to catch another animal on the road :D
I went there a lot of times, i live nearby, in Montpellier. Love this bridge, since I am young I watched the French emission on TV named c'est pas sorcier and they talked about it. This was my favourite episode
I drove across this viaduct shortly after it opened and it felt more like piloting a plane than driving a car, absolutely breathtaking scenery
It's beyond me how smart some people can be! How can you even calculate everything that is needed around, except for the bridge itself. How to calculate strength, wear, maintenance, etc. I am so impressed with these engineers. BUT! Also impressed by the politicians who dared to take the decision. Incomparable.
My grandparents had a house nearby. I used to go there on holiday every summer when I was a kid and used to see the bridge growing each summer when I went there.
I live less than an hour away from Millau and it is always a splendid things to see. I even get a chance to run a semi-marathon on it and man it is absolutly monstruous when you're next to the pillar
7:15 I worked construction on a washplant at a new coal mine many moons ago. There was a deadline date on that project as well, with the main contractor facing thousands of dollars a day in penalties if the project wasn't finished by deadline. Not sure if they succeeded. I ended up in hospital after a car crash a month before they finished.
I'm french so i already been on this bridge and it's really even more impressive when you drive on it !
Thank you for reacting to one of our best construction beside the Eiffel Tower
I live in the center of france and this bridge saves you like 1h30 when you want to cross the valley, amazing !
My father worked on this viaduc with Eiffage, and he have the chance to shake the hand from President Chirac at the inauguration.
@Iwrocker, if you find amazing the fact that the bridge was build on each side and push together perfectly at the end, you will be more amazed to see that this viaduc is not straight, it's curved! (check arial picture of it).
For me, that is still mind blowing.
(And i was there too with my father, when I was a kid )
I haven't driven on that bridge, or at least I don't remember, but I have been to the Tarn Valley, and if you have the opportunity, you should absolutely go there, spend 5 to 7 days there. This video doesn't do it justice, it's drop dead gorgeous, especially when you're down swimming in the river or hiking on the side. You can go on hikes, you can do kayak/canoe, hell, the towns are beautiful and pleasant. If you go in late spring or summer it's at its best, but it is very touristic.
It is an amazing piece of engineering. Not only because of the en result, but also because of the process. On time and no deads related to accidents, which is amazing for a project this size.
Also, they were afraid people would stop mid bridge because of the stunning views and cause accidents on a hard to reach and expensive piece of infrastructure. So they blok the view from the bridge. (source: An article in an engineering magazine I read when it was build.)
There are viewpoints though, make sure to visit those.
Hiiii from France :p I was quite surprise to see this video ahah. Actually when you are in the car you don't bellow so no problem but the view is awesome !
Hey I live like an hour away from it ! I used to go through it a lot when I lived in Clermont Ferrand and came back in Aveyron to see my parents, I remember a time when there was very heavy fog that accumulated down in the valley, you looked down and it looked like clouds under the bridge, it was incredible
Hello from France. If you want to know how to say Millau correctly, you should say "Me Oh". I've taken this overpass a few times and the views are stunning. The crossing is not at all scary despite the height. We feel safe. The engineering of this viaduct was astounding. It was built in two parts. One half built from one side and the other half from the other side. The alignment was almost perfect when the two halves came together. A lot of calculations had to be done to take into account the deformations due to the wind, which can be very strong.
as civil engineer myself specialized in concrete building, I am very impressed with such project.. I would love to be part of something like this someday... not that big structures are often being built here in Finland :D. What comes to measuring such projects. I am sure they had positional data from as many points in the structure as was needed, measurement team must have fixed data points across the valley added to GPS ones, the problem with GPS is that it gives accurate of centimeters when in this kind of projects you need accuracy of millimeters... (inch is 24,5mm and 2,45 cm). I wonder how long it took to pour those concrete pylons.. with climbing/sliding cast... it advanced max 25cm/hour (1/4 m).. so if the pylon is 200m high.. its like 800hours. Still.. even in smaller projects there are challenges.. engineering challenges, so we just engineer them out :). I work in private company, but most if not all our at least where I have been part of have been made for goverment or municipal organizations towns/cities/counties and such... these things that our tax monies get us and they more often than not are made very efficiently.
there are very good reports on the construction of this bridge
Hi :) dont u hv a mega prohect in Finland like an under water tunnel from Finland to Estonia ? Ddier from Montpellier
I have never seen the Millau Viaduct in reality, but the logistics company I worked for delivered the rebar (or at least a part of them) for the concrete. Can you imagine how many truck loads went into that thing? And can you imagine how tightly delivery times where scheduled? I still thank every truck driver who worked for us in that time for sometimes making the impossible possible by somehow dodging traffic jams and arriving in time, because being late would have been kind of expensive. (Sadly I can't remember what we would have had to pay for delaying the project.)
As a French who drove on it maybe 10+ times in his life : please go to Millau's Viaduc's restaurant. This restaurant makes some "special" crêpes only found there. It is DELICIOUS + you get an AMAZING view point. DO IT !
On the road, you got some sign like "you enter the viaduc of Millau" but you actualy don’t make any difference. Zero feel you are so high.
I commented similar, better to go under and look up.
Merci à toi d'avoir repris et commenté ce reportage sur le viaduc de Millau (que nous prononçons milo). En France, nous sommes très fiers de cet ouvrage d'Art.
non,on dit plutôt "miyo"
When the mist is low in the valley, the bridge rides over it like it lies on a smoke screen !
Don't know if anyone made the comment yet, but by night, with the lights on, this looks like the giant crosses in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Very out-of-this-world scenery.
I gotta say, I’m not an engineer, but I’m proud of our engineering in France, we rock with infrastructure projects (and having lived in Ireland and now the uk it’s light years ahead)
this is just a humbling piece of engineering.