Millau Viaduct mid-1998. After undergoing wind tunnel tests, the shape of the road deck was altered, and detailed corrections were made to the design of the pylons. When the details were eventually finalised, the whole design was approved in late 1998. Once the Ministry of Public Works had taken the decision to offer the construction and operation of the viaduct as a grant of contract, an international call for tenders was issued in 1999. Five consortia tendered: Piers were built with Lafarge high performance cement. The pylons of the Millau Viaduct, which are the tallest elements (the tallest pylon – ) were
Millau Viaduct each high, and weighing around , are set on top of the concrete pylons. Between each of them, eleven stays (metal cables) are anchored, providing support for the road deck. Each mast of the Viaduct is equipped with a monoaxial layer of eleven pairs of cable-stays; laid face to face. Depending on their length, the cable stays were made of 55 to 91 high tensile steel cables, or strands, themselves formed of seven strands of steel (a central strand with six intertwined strands). Each strand has triple protection against corrosion (galvanisation, a coating of petroleum wax, and an extruded polyethylene