Millau Viaduct - the World's greatest bridges

Great programme!  The DCOS still won't believe we want over it twice, Once in each direction!  A really great series and one to catch up on!

TF

I was out at grand-daughter's school musical last night so I will watch it on catch-up tonight. Only driven over it one way though and it's certainly impressive. There was a TV programme a year or so back about the technical aspects of the build which was fascinating.

Went into the museum/viewing area beside the bridge and no mention this great French engineering project was designed by a Brit, 

The new Forth road bridge uses the same cable stayed construction, another lovely bridge to sample if you're heading north rather than the far south. 

In 2004 we were staying in Millau and watched from our pitch on Les Rivages camp site as they were erecting the cable pillars. Each day there would be obvious progress. We agreed that we would go over it one day but, I have got to say, it is more impressive looking at it from below rather than driving over it when you don't really get any impression of how high up you are.

The programme was excellent although they didn't show very much about how the two halves of the deck were pushed out from either side of the valley. The programme mentioned the visitor area on the north side which always seems to be very busy and from where there is a good vantage point for photos but we were surprised that, for a brand new facility, they only installed continental type loos. (I know that is a very minor point). During construction there was a small but very interesting visitor centre on the south side between pillars 6 and 7. Standing by the pillar and looking up really gave a sense of the enormous height.

When I was in Cadiz the year before last, they were in the middle of a large bridge construction. If this website wasn't so fiddly, I'd post a pic.

 

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Still not as often photographed as Ashness bridge which also had a British designer,

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And ours !

First crossed in 2010 after an overnight at Camping Les Peupliers. Remember it as we had a flat tyre as we went to leave which meant emptying the boot to get at the spare.

We crossed again this year and, as before, stopped at the services jus before the bridge for a coffee and stroll to see the view.