Posted on 12/14/2004 9:21:38 AM PST by Da Bilge Troll
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Provides plenty of room to duck and cover under!!!
Time to honor the French!
Alons enfants de la patrié, le jour de gloire est arrivé!
I noted that as well.
Is this the bridge that was shown being constructed on Discovery HD Theater? I believe the programs name was "Extreme Engineering"
Isn't this just waving a red flag at the Islamikazis? Sounds like a terrorist playground.
When was the last time that the U.S. created a monumental bold feature for any purpose whatsoever? It is sad to the point that all of our construction projects that are the source of natural pride would not be allowed to be built today.
It is culturally painful to allow idiots to steer the direction our country has gone since 1972.
Think: the Charles de Gaulle
There is no power on Earth that could get me to drive across that thing.
Lets hope the Germans know how to broken step march...
This is going to draw suicide candidates like a magnet.
The Big Dig???
Geez, that is 1/6th of the cost of the SF Bay Bridge Earthquake retrofit, which will be a glorified freeway onramp. Here is a pic, with the suspension feature that will be deleted due to costs.
"There is no power on Earth that could get me to drive across that thing."
That makes two of us. These French folks are real whizzes at building stuff... remember the brand new airport terminal they just built...that just fell down?
> ... the tallest measuring 340 meters (1,122 feet),
> making it 16 meters (53 feet) taller than the Eiffel Tower.
Note that it is the tallest, and not the deepest.
The title for deepest (1053 ft) is still held by:
http://www.royalgorgebridge.com/html/park-information/highest-suspension-bridge.html
I may have failed to state the obvious: something to point at with pride, not a mini-UN project of graft and corruption...
I really couldn't help but think that too. I just hope that it's VERY sturdy.
I'm not a Francophobe, although I do find the French to be unaccountably supercilious. I wish them well in their once beautiful, cultured and civilized country. They've had a problem with African immigration since the end of the War.
It's beautiful! Vive la belle France! And may the French people awaken from their delusions in time to save themselves!
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