Baluarte Bridge saddles in the pylons to form 152 suspenders in a two plane semi-fan layout. The tallest intermediate pier, P9, is high. It crosses a gorge in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains with a clearance of below the deck, substantially taller than the Eiffel Tower. Its clearance is higher than that of the previous record-holder, France's Millau Viaduct, which has a clearance of . The bridge's central span, long, is also the longest cable-stayed span in North America, longer than that of the John James Audubon Bridge in St. Francisville, Louisiana. Construction on the bridge began on 21 February 2008. The
Millau to Amiliavum, then to Milhau en Rouergat (in the Millhau language), then to the French Millhau. By the ninth century the town has grown and is the seat of a viguerie, a mediaeval administrative court, and a centre for the production of lambskin gloves. At this time the town is surrounded by ramparts. The tenth and eleventh centuries saw the creation of the Viscount of Millau and subsequently passed to the Counts of Provence, the Counts of Barcelona and eventually, in 1112, to the father of the future King of Aragon, Béranger III following his marriage to the daughter of