[HN Gopher] Millau Viaduct
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Millau Viaduct
Author : oliverulerich
Score : 134 points
Date : 2025-08-07 10:23 UTC (4 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.fosterandpartners.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.fosterandpartners.com)
| cyprien_g wrote:
| I live a 2-hour drive from this, so I have driven on it several
| times. It's very impressive and always a nice part of the
| journey.
|
| And it's not only beautiful, it's also very useful. Before it was
| built, you had to go through small roads and villages, which, in
| addition to taking more time, was not very comfortable for the
| people living there.
| Beretta_Vexee wrote:
| I remember as a child being stuck in the back seat of the car
| for over three hours in 35degC heat just to get through Millau.
|
| The town is at the bottom of a very steep valley and it is very
| difficult to avoid (this involves extremely steep and narrow
| farm roads that are difficult to navigate without a small 4x4).
| willvarfar wrote:
| How has the bypass caused Millau to change?
|
| Has it prospered or faded now that there is no through-
| traffic?
| gregoriol wrote:
| It has lost through traffic but gained quite some tourism
| to see the bridge, it's a win situation
| prmoustache wrote:
| Given its proximity to the Parc Natonal des Grandes Causses
| and Gorges du Tarn it really didn't have to worry about
| that. It is a very touristic area.
| Beretta_Vexee wrote:
| Tourism is good, and the area is renowned for trail
| running, gravel biking (UCI World Series), mountain biking
| and paragliding.
|
| The viaduct has made some villages on the plateaus much
| more accessible. Small industrial businesses have set up
| shop.
|
| The only thing that sucks is that the little railway line
| will probably never reopen.
| lairv wrote:
| TBH most people I know who regularly drive there still take the
| Millau valley route, since the viaduct toll is quite expensive
| at 13EUR in the summer (just to cross the bridge)
| Sammi wrote:
| Doing a bit of googling it seems people report saving
| anything from 20 min to 1 hour by taking the bridge. But
| during some particular holidays, where there is lots of
| traffic, the saving can become 4 hours.
| lucianbr wrote:
| I suppose the 4 hours saving comes from a lot of people
| being on the non-bridge route, meaning a lot of people
| choose to not take the bridge. Is there any other possible
| reason for the 4 hours saved?
| bobthepanda wrote:
| It's a substantially flatter, straighter line, and much
| higher capacity. The valley route is only a single lane
| in each direction with no grade separation at
| intersections and you are comparing that to a four lane
| freeway.
| kergonath wrote:
| > in addition to taking more time, was not very comfortable for
| the people living there.
|
| That's quite the understatement. I remember taking one hour to
| get to the bottom of the valley from the Larzac, and then one
| hour again to get back up on the other side. We'd often stop
| for lunch or a coffee in Millau just to do anything at all that
| was not sitting in the car, but the city was entirely choked by
| this overwhelming traffic. The viaduct was a _massive_
| improvement. And sure, it affected local restaurants and bars,
| but the city is much more liveable now.
| unwind wrote:
| Beautiful!
|
| Also I can't help but appreciate that the gently curved bridge
| makes it possible to drive to Beziers [1].
|
| [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9zier_curve
| fouronnes3 wrote:
| Why drive? Go all-in and wingsuit fly through a pylon [1]
|
| [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRJ2o27gGTM
| prmoustache wrote:
| Life expectancy of wingsuit jumpers is so low that I'll pass.
|
| I am not against living life to the fullest but I also like
| the idea of telling my war stories in many years.
| layer8 wrote:
| The Bezier curve is named after Pierre Bezier [0], unrelated to
| the city of Beziers (which also has an extra "s").
|
| [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_B%C3%A9zier
| ttoinou wrote:
| Well any polynomial curve can be written as a Bezier curve and
| vice-versa (:
| _kyran wrote:
| Accidentally took a wrong turn and drove over this once and had
| to cop a toll despite turning back around afterwards. Was well
| worth it for the experience though!
| Mistletoe wrote:
| https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.33PH3KP
| smikhanov wrote:
| I _especially_ like the "Team" section of this page. Great
| recognition given to everyone who participated in this project,
| all the way to the humblest architecture school intern!
| kiru_io wrote:
| The attention to details, it's probably sorted by their
| contributions in percentage as well (not sure how to get that
| for such a project, but nvm).
| dirkc wrote:
| I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or if I'm seeing
| something different?
|
| I only see "Norman Foster" listed in the team section?
| sunrunner wrote:
| The power of the 1000x architect. Truly astounding.
| Anthony-G wrote:
| Me too so I reckon it's sarcasm.
| gnfargbl wrote:
| This video shows the bridge in context with the landscape, in a
| fairly unique way: https://youtu.be/PRJ2o27gGTM
| jdranczewski wrote:
| Interesting that the description mentions a year of training!
| Not something I immediately think of when I see one of these
| daredevil stunts, but it makes sense that he'd spend a while
| making sure he can reliably go through an opening of relevant
| dimensions
| readthenotes1 wrote:
| "two high plateaux."
|
| TIL the plural of plateau is plateaux in the UK.
| gnfargbl wrote:
| And in the USA, also:
|
| _> plural plateaus also plateaux_
|
| -- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plateau
|
| The variant _plateaus_ would be more common in both forks, I
| think.
| vanderZwan wrote:
| > both forks
|
| Ha, that's such a funny way to think of it the differences.
| And actually quite accurate as a description in the case of
| American English, since Noah Webster actively rejected the
| original British spelling.
| astrolx wrote:
| Yeah, the plurral was also just borrowed straight from French
| pantalaimon wrote:
| So are there multiple Bordeaux?
| ttoinou wrote:
| So you technically have real french words with the same plural
| rule, huh interesting
| futurix wrote:
| Stunning! I'm not a driver, so it won't be easy to organise - but
| it is on my list of places to see before I die.
| dsiegel2275 wrote:
| I drove over this bridge on a trip to France back in 2023.
| Pictures don't do it full justice - it is quite impressive to see
| in person. If you are anywhere nearby, consider making a detour
| to see it.
| mcphage wrote:
| The pictures make it look beautiful and awe-inspiring, so if
| those don't do it justice... wow.
| maelito wrote:
| Location on a French map :
| https://cartes.app/?allez=Viaduc+de+Millau|w440836275|3.0224...
| cpa wrote:
| High density (20 points per m2) LIDAR view from the French
| geospatial agency
|
| https://diffusion-lidarhd.ign.fr/visionneuse/?copc=https:%2F...
| limbero wrote:
| Driving over + drone footage:
| https://youtu.be/KOVdu6dhxXU?t=197
| gorgoiler wrote:
| Visiting on a sunny day is especially rewarding: the angled
| shadow cast by the bridge over the valley below really shows how
| enormously tall it is.
|
| For some reason it's much easier to gauge how tall something is
| when I can simultaneously, through shadow, also see how long it
| is.
| stackbutterflow wrote:
| I know nothing about bridges but this bridge is satisfying to
| look at.
|
| It's elegant. It conveys simplicity and utility.
|
| An object on which you would add nothing and would subtract
| nothing.
| Philpax wrote:
| Good B1M video about the making of the viaduct and its impact:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQA8303vxjE
| zoenolan wrote:
| I was lucky enough to visit a few years ago. A great technical
| achievement and a design classic.
|
| The approach from the Mediterranean side is very well done. The
| road curves with a hill blocking most of the bridge. As you turn
| the corner, the bridge comes into view. As you move onto the
| bridge and valley drops away and you get an idea of how high you
| are.
|
| Later on I got the view from an airplane after leaving Beziers. A
| different view but did show how the bridge sits in the landscape.
|
| If you get the chance to visit, you should.
| redat00 wrote:
| Pas mal non ? C'est francais.
| wmanley wrote:
| I visited it last year. It's 2.4km long and at its highest point
| the Eiffel Tower could fit under the road. Remarkably the
| construction cost was only EUR394 million.
|
| For comparison the planned 4.2km Lower Thames Crossing has
| already cost PS1.2bn (EUR1,400 million) just for the planning
| phase with nothing built. The French know how to build.
| jollyllama wrote:
| Everything I can find about it is overwhelmingly positive but I'd
| be interested to hear some counterarguments. I've never seen it
| in person, but to me, it is a bit too angular and brutalist.
| Something with a more arched styling could have been nice, if it
| was technically feasible.
| Mistletoe wrote:
| I could see people objecting to ruining the look of the
| countryside and nature with the bridge. It cost almost $500
| million in the 2000s. And the village would probably benefit
| from all that traffic if you consider more traffic good.
| kergonath wrote:
| Some restaurants and bars lost out when the traffic went
| away, but the city as a whole did not really. It is in a very
| scenic place in a very touristic region, and very well
| connected thanks to the motorway.
| kergonath wrote:
| It is difficult to appreciate without seeing it in person, but
| considering its absolutely massive scale and that everything
| about it is just humongous, it blends in the landscape much
| better than it should. Sure, it is visible, but not
| overpowering. Norman Foster explained how he tried to blend it
| with the horizon and the sky and I think he did a fairly good
| job. The straight lines are unobtrusive. They are there, but
| they do not command attention.
| yardie wrote:
| I drove over this bridge over a decade ago and stopped at the
| visitor center just below it. As an engineering and architect
| geek it was the highlight of the trip for me (and the family
| too!).
|
| As Bad Bunny said, "debi tirar mas photos!", because I didn't
| take nearly enough.
| netfortius wrote:
| Love it! One of my favorite (round) trips, this one from
| Occitanie to Auvergne, twice a year, for acquisition of Salers,
| Cantal, Saint Nectaire and saucisson d'Auvergne, from their
| source :)
| ttoinou wrote:
| expressing a fascination with the relationship between function,
| technology and aesthetics in a graceful structural form
|
| I really like the viaduct, but one thing I'm always wondering
| about when I read such take as one : can you show me how ugly it
| could have been ? Do we have others proposals for the same bridge
| where the engineers would have produced something without an
| architect and the result wouldn't have been a gracious mix
| respecting the landscape forms ?
|
| I want to believe what's written. At the same time, I never got
| any proof for such sentences, it's always blurry, poetic, without
| any demonstration trying to minimize varying factors as scientist
| like to do.
| aidenn0 wrote:
| Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The residents of
| Alexandria, VA successfully lobbied to change the design of the
| new Woodrow Wilson Bridge as they thought a suspension bridge
| would be an "eyesore."
| ttoinou wrote:
| Yeah but we could still have comparisons. It's only to get a
| marginally better idea than poetic sentences
| ea016 wrote:
| 2 interesting facts about it:
|
| - it was completed ahead of schedule and with no budget overrun.
| The construction company (Eiffage) had a strong incentive to do
| so: the deal was that they supported a most of the cost but in
| exchange got to collect the tolls
|
| - they have small mirrors all over the viaduct used to measure
| its movement - a bit like real-life telemetry
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(page generated 2025-08-11 23:01 UTC)