Tuesday 4 October 2011

SubhanaAllah ....... we are on the world's tallest bridge

One fine morning in April 2006, we made a historical journey to the world's tallest and longest bridge, Millau Viaduct in southern France. We were on our way back to Paris to catch the 12.00 midnight eurotrain from Calais to  Folkstone, UK.

Our journey actually started the day before from Barcelona,  Spain. We spent the night at an F1 hotel (the French budget hotel) in a small town not far from Millau. We wanted to pass through the bridge in the morning. We wanted to see the awe - inspiring technology and experienced the flying like journey crossing the Tarn River Valley..... a drive through the sky. SubhanaAllah ...... it's amazing!


The F1 hotel ..... France 2006
approaching the bridge ......
.....a drive through the sky ....
the bridge is behind us now ....... Millau, France 2006
Ashraf and Millau Bridge , France 2006
Kausar and Millau de viaduct, France 2006

  News from AP Associated Press,

14 Dec 2004, Millau France

Piercing the sky above the verdant hills of southern France, a 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 — 891 feet above the Tarn River valley for 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 1,122 feet, making it 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.




At 2.4km long, and 270m above the river at its highest point, the Millau viaduct spans a 2km valley in the Massif Central mountain range and forms the final link in the A75 highway from Paris to Barcelona. Despite its huge length, journey time over the structure is expected to be just one minute.



Barcelona is 832 km from Paris and about 9-10 hrs driving. Millau is about 400 km from Barcelona.

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