The Millau Viaduct spans the valley of the Tarn River near Millau in the southern part of France. It is a cable-stayed road bridge i.e. a bridge with one or more towers from which cables support the bridge deck in i fan-like design. The bridge was originally built to solve the problem of holiday traffic during summer on the route from Paris to Spain. This architectural wonder of the world was designed by the French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux and British architect Norman Foster in July 1996. In late 2001 the very first stone was laid, and by spring 2002 the first piers-were reaching for the sky. A year later the concrete work was finished and the record for the highest pier in the world was set at 245 m. Work on the steel deck started shortly after and in May 2004 the north and south sections were joined, spanning 2 460 m between the two points.
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