Where: Located 5 km from Millau in the south of France.

click here to view fullscreen

What: Panoramic view of the Millau motorway viaduct, the recently completed (Dec. 04) tallest bridge in the world, showing the #2 pier, which is 245 meters (803 feet) in height.

click here to view related pictures

The $523 million bridge was commissioned to open a new north-south link between Paris and the Mediterranean; it connects the motorway from Paris to Barcelona at the point where the River Tarn, which runs through a wide gorge between two plateaus, interrupts it.

Designed by British architect Norman Foster, the steel-and-concrete bridge is 270 meters (885 feet) high with its streamlined diagonal suspension cables resting on seven pillars — the tallest measuring 343 meters (1,125 feet), making it 23 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower.

Some 28,000 vehicles a day are expected to cross the 1.6 mile long bridge through France’s Massif Central mountains in the summer months, and about 10,000 a day the rest of the year, according to France's Eiffage construction company, which built it. Toll fees for motorists will vary from $6.50 in winter and $8.62 in summer. Trucks will have to pay $32.24 year-round

Colorado's Royal Gorge Bridge, towering 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River, is the world’s tallest suspension bridge — but it is designed for pedestrians.

Why:"This exceptional opening will go down in industrial and technological history," French President Jacques Chirac said December 14, 2004, praising the designers and builders for creating "a prodigy of art and architecture -- a new emblem of French civil engineering."

Shoot Details:
Guillaume Fulchiron: This shot was taken the 14th of July 2004 during the construction of the viaduct. I used a Nikon Coolpix 5000 with WC E68 converter (=19mm) on an old Manfrotto tripod and head. Twelve images in one raw and 6 for the Zenith. Stitched with PTgui and post processed with Photoshop. Converted into Quick Time format with Panocubeplus

Email:panograph[at]animatif[dot]com