ARTICLE - France opens tallest road bridge
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
CNN.com - France opens tallest road bridge - Dec 14, 2004:
Click Thumbnail for Large
"MILLAU, France (AP) -- Piercing the sky above the verdant hills of southern France, a stunningly modern roadway bridge hailed as the tallest in the world was officially inaugurated Tuesday.
Celebrated as a work of art and an object of French national pride, the Millau bridge will enable motorists to take a drive through the sky -- 270 meters (891 feet) above the Tarn valley for a 2.5 kilometer (1.6 mile) stretch through France's Massif Central mountains.
Designed by British architect Norman Foster, the steel-and-concrete bridge with its streamlined diagonal suspension cables rests on seven pillars -- the tallest measuring 340 meters (1,122 feet), making it 16 meters (53 feet) taller than the Eiffel Tower.
The bridge, which has an airy and fluid appearance, was designed to have the 'delicacy of a butterfly,' Foster said in an interview with regional daily newspaper Midi Libre.
'A work of man must fuse with nature. The pillars had to look almost organic, like they had grown from the earth,' said Foster, who also designed London's Millennium Bridge.
Colorado's Royal Gorge Bridge, towering 331 meters (1,053 feet) above the Arkansas River, is the world's tallest suspension bridge -- but it is designed for pedestrians. The Kochertal viaduct in Germany was the highest roadway, at 185 meters (607 feet), officials said.
President Jacques Chirac, surrounded by workers in hard hats, lifted a French flag covering a plaque on the bridge in the town of Millau on Tuesday. Fighter jets roared overhead, leaving a trail of red, white and blue smoke.
Millau is best known outside France as the place where anti-globalization activist Jose Bove dismantled a McDonald's restaurant.
The bridge, nearly three years in construction, opens to vehicles Thursday.
Click Thumbnail for Large
"MILLAU, France (AP) -- Piercing the sky above the verdant hills of southern France, a stunningly modern roadway bridge hailed as the tallest in the world was officially inaugurated Tuesday.
Celebrated as a work of art and an object of French national pride, the Millau bridge will enable motorists to take a drive through the sky -- 270 meters (891 feet) above the Tarn valley for a 2.5 kilometer (1.6 mile) stretch through France's Massif Central mountains.
Designed by British architect Norman Foster, the steel-and-concrete bridge with its streamlined diagonal suspension cables rests on seven pillars -- the tallest measuring 340 meters (1,122 feet), making it 16 meters (53 feet) taller than the Eiffel Tower.
The bridge, which has an airy and fluid appearance, was designed to have the 'delicacy of a butterfly,' Foster said in an interview with regional daily newspaper Midi Libre.
'A work of man must fuse with nature. The pillars had to look almost organic, like they had grown from the earth,' said Foster, who also designed London's Millennium Bridge.
Colorado's Royal Gorge Bridge, towering 331 meters (1,053 feet) above the Arkansas River, is the world's tallest suspension bridge -- but it is designed for pedestrians. The Kochertal viaduct in Germany was the highest roadway, at 185 meters (607 feet), officials said.
President Jacques Chirac, surrounded by workers in hard hats, lifted a French flag covering a plaque on the bridge in the town of Millau on Tuesday. Fighter jets roared overhead, leaving a trail of red, white and blue smoke.
Millau is best known outside France as the place where anti-globalization activist Jose Bove dismantled a McDonald's restaurant.
The bridge, nearly three years in construction, opens to vehicles Thursday.
Labels: External
Posted by FofR
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
| 
