I happened to catch a programme about the construction of the Millau bridge on Ch5. last night. An amazing technical achievement, but the eye-opener was when they wanted to test the load-bearing limits - they had 27 lorries,(900 tons weight)drive on to the centre span to see if it would deform..I wonder what inducement they offered to the drivers?
P.
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Well the first 20 just got a croisant and a cup of cafe. The next three got lunch and a glass of wine. The next three were promised free food for a year, and the last one was an algerian imigrant forced on there at gunpoint by the DSG.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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lol!
But seriously, people, go down and there and take a look if you get the chance - it's like nothing you've ever seen. Knowing nothing about it, I spotted it under construction a couple of years ago while leaving Millau and heading up the mountain on the south side. I almost ricked my neck as I swung round to look in disbelief.
Only thing is, I'd leave it till the spring - it may be the south of France but it's brass monkey temperatures round there in winter.
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I saw the bridge a couple of years ago, from over 30,000ft when flying into Perpignan, it is that big! Anybody interested in bridges as functional works of art might be interested in the work of Santiago Calatrava. His website is at
www.calatrava.com/
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And if you're going down the autoroute to Millau take a stop to look at an earlier example of the bridge builders art at the Viaduc de Garabit www.garabit.com/
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Caught the first few minutes of this. Can anyone confirm the correct pronunciation of Millau?
I'd say Miaow (as in a cat). Last night's presenter said it pretty much phonetically - Milloh, but may have been pandering to the US audience as called the autoroute a freeway!
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Bromptonaut-Think your right.Its as in miaow.
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I would guess for the double 'l' you sound a 'y', also the end would be more 'oh' than 'ow'. I.e. Meeyoh.
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I would guess for the double 'l' you sound a 'y', also the end would be more 'oh' than 'ow'. I.e. Meeyoh.
Yes. I would settle for 'me' and 'yo' (as in yo-yo). Also similar pronunciation to that of the French composer, Milhaud?
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My French works, but on this one i agree with my wife who is a French teacher try 'Mill-aw', it's nearer the correct pronunciation.
postmanchris
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But seriously, people, go down and there and take a look if you get the chance - it's like nothing you've ever seen.
>>
For those that cannot go there, 8 good photos of the bridge plus one.
tinyurl.com/bgyxf
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How about a parachute?.Fantastic piece of engineering and British designed
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Did it say how long it took to build? I was watching good old Trevor Macdonald and a report about motorway roadworks, the time they take to do and why you never see anyone working on them (!)so missed some of the programme about the bridge.
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Cheddar is closest with his Mee-yoh pronunciation. I too was surprised by the bridge during construction after arriving in Millau one dark wet night and seeing this amazing creation from underneath next morning on departure. Then a few days after it officially opened I flew a long haul flight out of Paris to West Africa and I am sure the pilot detoured so he could announce it as we passed overhead on a clear day. I have flown the route 2-3 times since and never again flown directly over Millau.
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I am sure the pilot detoured so he could announce it as we passed overhead on a clear day.>>
The last time I was in South Africa on a new car launch we had to fly from J'burg to Cape Town; there were only about 50 people on board the Jumbo, mostly our party.
To our surprise, when we were about half way to Cape Town, the pilot began to give a commentary on the various sites of interest and, what's more, flipped the aircraft from one side to the other so we all got a good view.
It concluded with the 747 circling Table Mountain before coming into land when the pilot was given a long round of applause.
We learned afterwards that the pilot had obtained permission from Air Traffic Control to undertake his guided tour - can't imagine a British Airways pilot emulating his South African counterpart...:-)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Depends what part of France you live in...
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How you pronounce 'Millau' that is.
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And indeed who you are. People pronounce names in different ways here and everywhere.
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I always thought it was "pont"
as in D'Avignon
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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The residents of Millau say mee-yoh with no hint of an 'l'
or they did when I was there.
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There isn't any point debating pronunciation of the name. If you live in France you will know that whatever option you choose, the French will use another. There are at least three ways of pronouncing the name of the village where I live - and the locals use all three, interchangably. Just go down to Millau and take a look!
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Yes, we drove over it last Summer for the first time and I must say it is spectacular. Having said that, you can't see an awful lot when you are on it as the barriers are so large, but the approach is awesome.
We had often spent up to 3 hours trying to get through Millau on the way to or from my parent's house near Beziers. Summer of 03 stuck for 2 hours - the temperature guage reached 42 degrees - thank goodness for aircon! To do the whole lot in 10 mins now with the bridge is just amazing.
Mum and Dad have driven over it in many different weathers and felt a lot safer than on the Severn Bridge. Interestingly the toll goes up a lot in the Summer months, but worth every penny (or Euro!). And yes, Meeyoh seems to be the pronounciation.
Top Gear did a feature on Super Cars and featured it quite a lot a few weeks back.
Sorry if this is long-winded. Yes, I am very excited about this bridge and saw the programme last night too!
Yoby.
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British designer, built by the French in France. Just like the New Clio. What is going on?
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British designer, built by the French in France. Just like the New Clio. What is going on?
It's a vision thing. Or rather a lack-of-vision thing.
Yoby reports of the bridge that "you can't see an awful lot when you are on it as the barriers are so large", and reviews of the new Clio say it has atrocious rear visibility. So it's all a British plot to stop the French seeing anything :)
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I see somebody's already mentioned Boeing 747's on this thread - I wonder when one will fly under the Millau Viauduct.
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I see somebody's already mentioned Boeing 747's on this thread - I wonder when one will fly under the Millau Viauduct.
When a 747 pilot is fed up with having a licence, and enjoys having the view out his window interrupted by vertical bars ...
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Do not believe that the bridge will do away with delays. At least in the good old days (7hr tailback at peak periods), you could stop and et a drink or meal in the town.
I believe that last summer the worst delay, stuck on the approach to the peage, reached about 2 hrs! At leat you have a nice view whilst stuck in blazing sun shine, and no shade in prospect.
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pmh (was peter)
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