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☖ Forums → Discussion Forum → The French Might Not Be the Most Popular Subject Right Now . . .
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The French Might Not Be the Most Popular Subject Right Now . . .
2004-12-14, 7:43 PM #1
. . . but you've got to admit, they know how to build good bridges.

According to this Wikipedia article , the Millau Viaduct bridge opens today. It is the tallest bridge in the world. I quote:
Quote:
The Millau Viaduct (French: viaduc de Millau) is a cable-stayed road bridge that spans the Tarn river valley near Millau in southern France. It is the highest bridge in the world, with one pier's summit at 341 m (1,118 ft)—slightly higher than the Eiffel Tower and 132 feet shy of the Empire State Building. It was formally opened on December 14, 2004 and opens to traffic on December 16, 2004.

Quote:
The bridge's construction costs amount to €394 million, with a toll plaza 6 km north of the viaduct costing an additional €20 million. The project required about 127,000 m³ of concrete, 19,000 metric tons of steel for the reinforced concrete, and 5000 metric tons of pre-stressed concrete for the cables and shrouds. The builder claims that the bridge's lifetime will be 120 years.
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2004-12-14, 7:44 PM #2
...
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2004-12-14, 7:46 PM #3
Well, I'll admit it looks pretty futuristic, but what's with the top of those towers? There aren't any cables in the top 100 feet... seems kind of pointless.
Stuff
2004-12-14, 7:50 PM #4
The whole bridge is pointless dude..., it's not even going over a body of water or obstruction. The French are just doing it boost their ego.
2004-12-14, 7:54 PM #5
Quote:
Originally posted by kyle90
Well, I'll admit it looks pretty futuristic, but what's with the top of those towers? There aren't any cables in the top 100 feet... seems kind of pointless.
maybe housing mass dampeners? there's gotta be a design reason.

anyway, at least now emo teenagers can commit suicide in style
2004-12-14, 7:55 PM #6
wouldn't you like that much of a view?
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2004-12-14, 7:59 PM #7
Quote:
Originally posted by -Monoxide-
The whole bridge is pointless dude..., it's not even going over a body of water or obstruction. The French are just doing it boost their ego.


No..see, it's so they can run faster.

*ducks*

:p
woot!
2004-12-14, 8:06 PM #8
Quote:
The whole bridge is pointless dude..., it's not even going over a body of water or obstruction. The French are just doing it boost their ego.


Right. It's perfect terrain for a highway.
2004-12-14, 8:06 PM #9
Quote:
Originally posted by -Monoxide-
The whole bridge is pointless dude..., it's not even going over a body of water or obstruction. The French are just doing it boost their ego.


Looks like it goes over a valley or something...
2004-12-14, 8:09 PM #10
If you look closely below there's five roads and highways intersecting. It's more efficient to build a gigantic overpass rather than making a curvy sloped highway with five small overpasses.
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2004-12-14, 8:09 PM #11
Well, you can always go down the valley, it's not too hard.
2004-12-14, 8:14 PM #12
Surely there's an engineer out there that could have built a road that went down the hill, over the other road, and then along the ground again.

...There had to have been a simpler way. Maybe even tunnel?


If the tunnel idea is stupid, don't flame me. Heheh.
2004-12-14, 8:16 PM #13
Bah, who here has even been to France?
I can't think of anything to put here right now.
2004-12-14, 8:18 PM #14
Yay for actually reading the article! :p

Quote:
The bridge is the last link on the A75 autoroute, providing a continuous high-speed route from Paris through Clermont-Ferrand to Béziers. Prior to the bridge's construction, traffic had to descend into the Tarn River valley and passed along the route nationale N9 near the town of Millau, causing heavy congestion at the beginning and end of the July and August vacation season. Many tourists heading to southern France and Spain follow this route because it is direct and mostly toll free.

The A75 (la Méridienne) is a developmental project with the aim of speeding up and reducing the cost of car travel from Paris southwards, and it is entirely free for the 340 km between Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers. However, the viaduct is constructed under a government contract with the Eiffage group, effective for 75 years. The corporation will impose tolls at agreed upon rates: about €6 for light automobiles, excluding the peak months of July and August.

The bridge crosses the Tarn valley at its lowest point, linking the causse du Larzac to the causse rouge.
2004-12-14, 9:57 PM #15
Quote:
Bah, who here has even been to France?

Me.

It's cool. In some ways, the architecture reminds me of the Eiffel tower. It would be cool if it lit up at night like the Eiffel tower too. Has anyone here seen the Eiffel tower at night? It's awesome. I got a great view of it from that one river in Paris.

Quote:
The French are just doing it boost their ego.

What, do you think all artwork is done just to boost people's egos?
Man, those people that built the Golden Gate really had ego problems. How about Big Ben? That just reeks of ego! And then there's that one really tall statue in Edinburgh. It hurts my neck just to look at it.
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2004-12-14, 10:02 PM #16
Been there as well..
Sure, it has some helluva cool things there, great place to go and viist. I wouldn't want to live there.
2004-12-14, 10:05 PM #17
I'm glad I'm not the only person who thinks its pointless. Maybe they did have a traffic problem, but they didnt need to build a bridge that big or ugly to solve it.
2004-12-14, 10:06 PM #18
It should also be noted that that was back when I was on the anti-France bandwagon. The group I went with voted on whether or not to go, and I was the only one who voted against it. I ended up liking it the most.
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2004-12-14, 10:23 PM #19
Three-hundred ninety-four million euros for a bridge of that size?? Impressive. The George Washington bridge cost about 650 million dollars, after inflation is calculated (and euros roughly equal dollars).

It's too bad the French bridge is damn ugly, and is pretty worthless. It goes over land. They could have built a road going down the sides of the hills, and some cheap overpass-type bridges for far less money.
2004-12-14, 10:28 PM #20
Actually, I believe it's about 1.65 Euros to a dollar.

If you read Mikus's post, you'll see that it's not worthless.
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2004-12-14, 10:30 PM #21
Soooo, spend a few bucks adding more lanes to existing roads, or spend a damn half-billion euros to make a bridge?
2004-12-14, 10:32 PM #22
Right.
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2004-12-14, 10:40 PM #23
I don't think just adding some lanes would have done it.

Besides, it adds to the culture. That alone makes it worthwhile, even if it didn't have a practical purpose.
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2004-12-14, 11:11 PM #24
Hmm...so what if some terrorist decides to bomb both ends of the bridge in rush hour traffic.

And in terms of the French building it to increase their ego...well.

Look at the Washington Monument. Or heck, most of Washington D.C.
Look at the Taj Mahal.
Look at the needle thingy in seattle.
Or the golden gate bridge.

France has an independent language and is a little bit bigger than texas people...

Do you think they really did it for the ego?

Hell yes.
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2004-12-14, 11:27 PM #25
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/03/europe_the_millau_bridge/img/5.jpg] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/03/europe_the_millau_bridge/img/1.jpg]

Very neat. They showed it on the news yesterday, the bridge is built so high that they have large glass plates installed as wind shields along the sides. It's another joint French-British Project like the Concorde or the Chunnel.

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/03/europe_the_millau_bridge/img/2.jpg]
It isn't useless and it does save a lot of time, especially since it's apparently one of Europe's most congested roads.

I've never understood the recent rampant reactionary francophobia bandwagon (or would that be gallophobia?).

Quote:
Originally posted by THRAWN
Bah, who here has even been to France?


*raises hand* Hard not to if you've spent 10 years of your childhood in Luxembourg. Quite a place. Lots of variety in the people and places. You'd have to be very close-minded not to find something to enjoy.
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2004-12-15, 12:01 AM #26
That has to be one of the sweetest looking bridges I've ever seen.
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2004-12-15, 12:07 AM #27
Ils l'ont battu en trois ans?

(They built it in three years?)
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2004-12-15, 12:32 AM #28
It was designed by a Briton.

hahahahah
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2004-12-15, 1:10 AM #29
I saw a thing on the construction of it a month or so ago on discovery channel. Interesting concept. They had to battle 100+mph winds during the construction
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2004-12-15, 2:09 AM #30
Quote:
Originally posted by Sine Nomen
It was designed by a Briton.

hahahahah


Wow, you must really enjoy your life, don't you? :confused:

Since it's totally privately financed, and no government money was invested, I do find a little peculiar the thought that it would have been built just to "boost their ego". It's designed to bring profit to the owners in the long run. If it does boost their ego as a side effect, so what? I think that's only a good thing.

And I agree with those who think it's a great piece of craftsmanship.
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2004-12-15, 3:33 AM #31
Quote:
Originally posted by THRAWN
Bah, who here has even been to France?


Me! I lived there for 3 years. The French have an amazingly good road network, and when they see a gap like this they plug it. Just so happens that this time involved building a large bridge...

Besides, the French love needlessly extravagant bridges. Check out this one in Normandy:

[http://atlas.imagemagician.com/images/spork/normandie1.jpg]

Or the Chateau de Chenonceaux in the Loire valley, the entire bridge is a castle! (or the castle is on a bridge... whichever way you want to look at it)

[http://atlas.imagemagician.com/images/spork/02727021.JPG]
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2004-12-15, 3:51 AM #32
Good lord some of you are frighteningly transparent.

The bridge is awesome looking, especially in the last couple of pics. I've only been over a couple of times, and never much further than Calais (booze run!) The language barrier's somewhat intimidating, I know I'd be sick of all the English tourists if I lived over there.
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2004-12-15, 4:31 AM #33
France is a beautiful country.

United States of America is a country.

There's a great difference.
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2004-12-15, 6:54 AM #34
The Euro went from 78 cents to 65 the day after bush got elected... interesting

and im gonna be living in France for 2 months this summer and doing film school.
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2004-12-15, 8:16 AM #35
Looks like somethin out of a scifi movie...

It's kind of ugly at first, but it grows on you. The question is will it hold up with mud and winds?
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2004-12-15, 10:29 AM #36
Quote:
Originally posted by Argath
Right. It's perfect terrain for a highway.
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2004-12-15, 10:39 AM #37
It's a beautiful bridge if you ask me - and I'm damn well studying Civil Engineering! Other than dampers, those spires might well have ties for all the cables running up them - just a thought

On money, despite the bridge's coolness, they're very rarely a sound investment for privateers. The Humber bridge in England (For many years the longest in the world) takes 2+ hrs off trips over the Humber, and has done for a good long while (~2 decades). It will most likely never break even. (It's a toll bridge) It's just the way the economics work, especially with constant maintainance.

Oh, and French Engineers were often the pioneers of great structures - the first to apply mathematics over pragmatism and therefore they rock. I am not flexible on this point.

But it's still sexy, and I'm not sure why people see otherwise.

*Shrugs*
2004-12-15, 10:43 AM #38
Quote:
Originally posted by Martyn
But it's still sexy, and I'm not sure why people see otherwise.


cause it's french

:rolleyes:
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2004-12-15, 10:45 AM #39
Wait, I'm French AND sexy!
2004-12-15, 10:51 AM #40
*While thinking about replying, GIS's for 'french and sexy'*

Whoops! ;)
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