World's highest road bridge opens.... - Chad.R
Full details here..

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4091813.stm

The drive down would be worth it, even if it as just to see the bridge - an amazing feat of engineering.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Mark (RLBS)
I can't say that modern architecture normally impresses me, especially the longest/tallest/whatever competitions;

But that bridge is really impressive. And pretty. And 1/2 billion doesn't seem that much for a structure like that.

Anybody know what the SSC cost ? Which is not pretty and not impressive.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - blue_haddock
you can drive down it if you want - i wanna bungee off it!
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Mark (RLBS)
SSC was US$600m as opposed to US$520m for the new french one.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Happy Blue!
When the Victorians built the great brick railway viaducts, the population thought them dreadful, but we now seen them as elegant magnificent structures.

I feel the same way about wind powered generators and these bridges. They are truly fantastic strutures that make the soul yearn for more.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Bromptonaut
When the Victorians built the great brick railway viaducts, the population
thought them dreadful, but we now seen them as elegant magnificent
structures.


And built with such foresight. There's one near Denham (on the old Great Central I think) each arch just the right size to get three lanes of M25 underneath 90 years later.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - oldbanger
When the Victorians built the great brick railway viaducts,
the population thought them dreadful, but we now seen them
as elegant magnificent structures.


I thought that in their time they were thought of as true marvels "of the modern age". The Victorians built all sorts of innovative structures. They built what was then the longest bridge in the world, opened in 1878 - over the Tay, at Dundee.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Chad.R
Not sure about a bungee jump as even an "unauthorised" jump may take a while to set up - however I'm sure it won't take too long before an adrenaline junkie (or 2) try a base jump from it.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Rebecca {P}
Having driven through Millau in August a couple of times (on the way to the in-laws), this bridge will be a godsend and in theory could cut 2 hours off the journey time (approx time needed to cross Millau's traffic). In recent years we've watched progress with this bridge advance bit by bit.

Less than 5 euros to cross seems like a bargain to me. I wonder what the toll queues will be like?!
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Altea Ego
OOO WOW. Thats stunningly good looking. It is almost worth a drive down just to see it.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Imagos
I'd get vertigrease driving over that!
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Imagos
offical site www.viaducdemillaueiffage.com/ worth a look.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - stackman
We sat/crawled for 3 hours this year through Millau and have to say that the bridge is the most spectacular achievement.

It looks so elegant and spectral hanging in the air above the valley like something from a science fiction film. The French certainly have a way with dramatic structures.

We will certainly be looking forward to crossing it next year.

There was a Discovery documentary a few weeks ago about the construction. The way they built it was quite incredible, moving massive lengths of the structure over the abyss using hydraulic jacks to lift and slide the sections.

Bravo !
World's highest road bridge opens.... - BrianW
Apparently the architect is British.

The builders have a 75 year lease to collect tolls.
I hope the oil doesn't run out before then!
World's highest road bridge opens.... - oldbanger
The builders have a 75 year lease to collect tolls.
I hope the oil doesn't run out before then!


Hmph. The Tay bridge was only open for 19 months.

Let's see, £500,000,000 at £4/crossing... 125,000,000 crossings... say a 10-year timeframe, no extrapolation for costs... 12,500,000 crossings per year, approx. 34,000 per day... 1400 per hour.. 23 cars a minute.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - PhilW
ob,
I would think the French have got it right - after all the QEII bridge paid for itself in about 10-12 years, I think, at £1 a crossing. (something like 50m crossings per year though). French also have a fair bit of experience with their big bridges - they seem to see them as a challenge and bung them up all over the place. Probably took them less time to build and less money than we have been messing about with on the M6 bridge whose name escapes me at the moment - Thelwall? and the elevated sections of M1 near Sheffield, M6 N of Birmingham etc.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Happy Blue!
The problem of the bridges on the M1 and M6 is they are much more heavily trafficked than the bridge in France will be.

The bridge in France will be quiet during the winter - so we are lead to understand. The Thelwall viaduct at Warrington over the M6 carries something like 120,000 vehicles a day??? many of them HGVs. Its no wonder they wear out.

However the poor quality materials for the second span of Thelwall have lead to the current roadworks which took 2.75 years to do and were completely unnecessary if the job had been done right on Day 1.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Imagos
Does anybody think that some people may get a bit nervous when they drive over this? Not just from terrorism but from the sheer height of the thing?

I still get a bit edgey travelling over the Queen Elizabeth bridge at Dartford although i've done it many many times. It's the vertigo. I get quite anxious (go on laugh!) so don't think i'll be going over this one.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Sofa Spud
What an amazing structure. Do they have conservationists in France, I wonder? (other than those who try to stop foreign words creeping into the French language)

Cheers, SS
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Tim Allcott
French are much more realistic when it comes to these things: Although Millau was where Bovez burnt down the local McDonalds! I too have seen this thing in construction. Anyone see it on the 22:00 news last night? Driving over a cloud filled valley: Wow! but on a sombre note: how long till the first suicide? (I live near the Humber bridge)


Tim{P}
World's highest road bridge opens.... - BrianW
True, the QEII Bridge paid for itself, but the Government then slapped on a permanent toll.
Would the same happen in France: I don't think so, the barricades would have gone up on day one of the extension, we just roll over on our backs and give up.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Chad.R
Apparently the architect is British.


Yes, its (Sir?) Norman Foster. I must admit to not being a great fan of some of his designs but this is just magnificent. The structure is obviously huge and very strong but it manages to seem both graceful and delicate too.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Mark (RLBS)
"Lord" I believe; also responsible for the Swaying Bridge of London Town.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - patently
"Lord" I believe; also responsible for the Swaying Bridge of London
Town.


Yes, but I think the engineering group was responsible for th swaying rather than Lord Foster.

This bridge is absolutely fantastic! Who votes for a BR trip to see it?
World's highest road bridge opens.... - madux
This bridge is absolutely fantastic! Who votes for a BR
trip to see it?


The area is well worth a visit in itself. We've had several holidays there and there are so many things to see; The cheese caves at Roquefort, the Tarn Gorges (About 8hrs canoeing for about £10) caves with stalactites etc, medaeival villages, Knights Templar ruins. Markets at Millau and Lodeve. A huge plateau with deep canyons and gorges cut through it - drive along a long straight road in any direction and suddenly you are faced with a hairy hairpin descent down to the valley floor........
World's highest road bridge opens.... - budu
British architect, French engineering, a true Franco/British project. Except the French will say it is all theirs, as they did with Concorde and the Airbus.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - patently
Why do you think "bridge" ends with an "e"?
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Mark (RLBS)
Why do you think "bridge" ends with an "e"?


Because if it ended with an "j" it would be very difficult to say ?
World's highest road bridge opens.... - patently
Mark - it's an old joke, revised for this thread. Think Concord vs Concorde
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Mark (RLBS)
Patently - I did realise. I intended to pretend to miss the point by as far as was possible.

Clearly I pretended more convincingly than I intended.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - NowWheels
Why do you think "bridge" ends with an "e"?


'cos the makers had altready fitted an "e" to the end of "Porch", and thought it looked poshe.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - budu
Why all this fuss over a French letter?
World's highest road bridge opens.... - No Do$h
Why all this fuss over a French letter?


Coat? Coat? I left my coat around here.... Oh, Budu has got it.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - blank
On the subject of toll collection vs. our Dartford experience, a little sub-site off the BBC link states, "the French Government has the right to assume control of the bridge from 2044, if it proves extremely profitable."!! Sounds just like the QEII bridge.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - cabsmanuk
I agree it is a superb bridge and can't wait to take the bike over it a few times but I can see one problem. Won't it be very prone to fog/low cloud?

Keep upright
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Chad.R
Lets hope that its not tall enough to be affected by low cloud and too tall to be affected by fog! :-)

The link's pics suggest that the fog will roll underneath the bridge - not sure about low clouds though.
World's highest road bridge opens.... - John24
A couple of years ago I got lost on the autobahn and ended up crossing a viaduct over the Moselle(IIRC) somewhere near Coblenz. Looking down to the river was quite a shaky experience. Does anyone recognise this viaduct and know how it compares to the new bridge?
World's highest road bridge opens.... - SjB {P}
Indeed a Foster and Partners creation.

Sompe photos of this and other creations of theirs at www.fosterandpartners.com

I love the side on photo of the bridge running across the horizon. Seriously impressive.

Yet again I used Stansted airport to arrive back from work in Sweden yesterday, and am still impressed how fresh and user friendly the design is compared to many other airports of similar size and passenger volume. There are some interesting words about it on the F&P website, which also reminded me how old it is now. How time flies (bad pun, not intended).
World's highest road bridge opens.... - Rebecca {P}
Sorted. We will be crossing the bridge on 30th July next year.

(Special offer on Eurotunnel £98 return, book by end of Jan 2005)

If anyone crosses before then, please report back here.