Viaduct with larger spans, typically lack sufficient horizontal and vertical clearance for large ships. See the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed road-bridge that spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France. Designed by the French bridge engineer Michel Virlogeux, in collaboration with architect Norman Robert Foster, it is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, with one pier's summit at 343 metres (1,125 ft)—slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower and only 38 m (125 ft) shorter than the Empire State Building. It was formally dedicated on 14 December 2004 and opened to traffic
Le Pouget (power station) the south of the river the land rises again to over 600 m. The area is called Les Raspes de Tarn- 30 km to the east is the A75 autoroute and the Viaduc de Millau which crosses the Tarn and Dourdan at the level of the plateau. Further east is the town of Millau and the Karst landscape of the Gorges du Tarn. The impervious granites of the Lévézou make this a suitable location for water capture. The catchment area of Le Pouget is extensive. The Alrance valley was dammed at Villefranche-de-Panat, creating the 197 hectare Lac de Villefranche-de-Panat. The