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
Millau Viaduct conditions (fatigue, density, texture, adherence, anti-rutting etc.). The 'ideal formula' was found after two years of research. The electrical installations of the viaduct are large in proportion to the size of the bridge. There are of high-current cables, of fibre optics, of low-current cables, and 357 telephone sockets; allowing maintenance teams to communicate with each other and with the command post. These are situated on the deck, on the pylons, and on the masts. The pylons, road deck, masts, and cable stays are equipped with a multitude of sensors to enable structural health monitoring. These are designed to detect the