Millau Viaduct: Creating an Engineering Marvel
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Case Details:
Case Code : PROM006
Case Length : 21 Pages
Period : 2001-2004
Organization : Eiffage TP
Pub Date : 2006
Teaching Note :Not Available
Countries : France
Industry : Construction
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"The Millau viaduct takes its place among our most shining
works of civil engineering. It brilliantly embodies the verve of our research
and technology. The French people are rightly proud of the feats accomplished
here – feats which speak for France."1
- Jacques Chirac, President of France, in 2004.
"We were attracted by the elegance and logic of a
structure that would march across the heroic landscape and in the most minimal
way connect one plateau to the other. We were driven by the scale of the idea
and the shared passion for the poetic dimension of engineering and its
sculptural potential."2
- Lord Norman Foster, Architect of the Millau viaduct, in
2004.
Introduction
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On December 17, 2004, the Millau viaduct3,
constructed over the Tarn Valley in the southern region of France, was
inaugurated by the French President Jacques Chirac (Chirac). The viaduct,
standing 343 meters tall, was the world's tallest cable stayed bridge4
(See Exhibit I for a photograph of the Millau Viaduct).
The viaduct was named after Millau, a small town in the middle of the Tarn
Valley5. The viaduct over the Tarn Valley
was proposed to ease the traffic congestion on the A75 motorway, which connected
the French towns of Clermont Ferrand and Beziers. A multiple cable stayed bridge
with seven piers, designed by a team consisting of engineer Michel Virlogeux (Virlogeux)
and architect Lord Norman Foster (Foster), was selected as the best possible
solution in 1996.
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The Government of France (GoF) invited tenders in June, 2000, to award the
contract for the construction project. Eiffage Group TP (Eiffage) won the
bid. Eiffage along with its subsidiaries and partners constructed the
viaduct, raising the funds required on its own. Eiffage was to earn returns
on its investment through the collection of toll charges.
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The construction of the Millau viaduct began with the
building of the concrete piers in December 2001. Later, the steel deck,
which was fabricated at off-site production plants, was assembled and
pushed onto the piers from the two sides of the valley using hydraulic
jacks. After the deck was joined in the middle, the pylons6,
cable stays7, and side barriers
were fixed.
The construction of the Millau viaduct involved the use of cutting-edge
technology and satellite guided GPS systems. The Millau viaduct was not
only an engineering marvel but also a well planned and executed project.
With the viaduct operational, motorists would be able to cross the
valley in 20 minutes as opposed to the three-hour drive (during summer)
that was required earlier. |
Millau Viaduct: Creating an Engineering Marvel
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