Multispan, Cable-Stayed Crossing Is High-Level Landmark
Even with a short 39-month contract to design in detail and build the $410-million bridge, the private-sector sponsor has brought completion forward a few weeks to this December. Contractors have found their pace, so the early opening should happen "if the weather stays favorable," says Marc Legrand, director general of Compagnie Eiffage du Viaduc du Millau (CEVM).
With pylons reaching higher than the spire of New Yorks Chrysler Building, the viaduct is the last major link in the A75 highway between Bézier and Claremont-Ferrand. Its construction will relieve seasonal congestion around the town of Millau and was ordered by the transportation ministry, partly because of the difficult hilly terrain it must cross.