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The bridge is 23 metres taller than the Eiffel
Tower | |
A bridge officially designated the tallest in the world is to be
inaugurated in southern France -- a spectacular feat of engineering that
will carry motorists at 270
metres (885 feet) above the valley of the river Tarn.
Designed by British architect Norman Foster, the Millau motorway viaduct stretches for 2.46
kilometres (1.6 miles) between two plateaux in the Massif Central
mountain range and when it opens Thursday will remove one of the country's
most notorious traffic bottlenecks.
Built of steel and concrete at a cost of 390 million euros (520 million
dollars), the bridge rests on seven pillars, one of which -- dubbed P2 --
climbs to 343 metres above ground level, making it 23 metres higher than
the Eiffel Tower.
Like a taut thread pierced by a line of needles, the silhouette
dominates the countryside for miles around and has been praised as a
classic marriage of aesthetics and science. More than 60,000 people have
already paid for tours of the construction site.
"A work of man must fuse with nature. The pillars had to look almost
organic, like they had grown from the earth," Foster said.
The viaduct is not only the tallest in the world -- outstripping the 282-metre towers of
the Akashi Kaikyo bridge in Japan -- it is also the longest cable-stayed bridge. The Tatara
Ohashi bridge in Japan is 1.48 kilometres long.
The highest bridge in the world -- measured by distance from deck to
ground level -- remains the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado, US which is
320 metres (1,053 feet) above the river Arkansas.
President Jacques Chirac will officially launch the Millau bridge at
Tuesday's ceremony, almost exactly three years after work began. Some
3,000 people have been employed by the French construction giant Eiffage,
which holds the right to draw a toll for the next 75 years.
The bridge was commissioned in order to open up a new north-south route
across central France and relieve pressure from lorry-drivers and tourists
bound for the Mediterranean
and Spain in the saturated Rhone valley corridor to the east.
Eiffage is predicting an average of 10,000 vehicles per day, with a
peak of 25,000 during the summer season when tariffs will be increased. If
the bridge proves unexpectedly profitable, the French state has the right
to take possession from 2044.
(Agencies) |
一座经官方认可的“世界最高桥梁”即将在法国南部举行落成典礼，随着这座外观宏伟、设计精湛的建筑工程的竣工，开车人可以从塔恩河上方270米（885英尺）处横跨塔恩河河谷。
这座由英国建筑学家诺曼·福斯特设计的密佑（高速公路）高架桥长达2.46公里（1.6英里），坐落在法国中央高原山脉的两大高原之间。这座桥将于星期四（12月6日）开放，疏通法国最头痛的交通瓶颈之一。
整座桥梁由钢铁和混凝土建成，耗资3.9亿欧元（5.2亿美元）。桥身由七根墩柱支撑，其中有一根编号为P2的柱子高度超过地平线343米，比埃菲尔铁塔还要高23米。
密佑高架桥的侧面轮廓就像一根绷紧的线被一排针刺透一样，它绵延几英里，俯瞰四周乡野，被誉为美学和科学的经典结合。目前已经有超过6万人参观了该桥的建筑工地。
“人类的杰作必须和自然融为一体。这些柱子看上去必须非常接近自然形态，就像是从地里长出来的一样。”福斯特说。
密佑高架桥不仅是世界上最高的桥梁（超了日本明石海峡大桥282米高的桥头堡），也是世界上最长的斜拉桥。日本多多罗大桥的长度为1.48公里。
如果按照从桥面到地面的距离来算，世界上最高的桥仍然是横跨阿肯色河之上，高320米（1053英尺）的美国科罗拉多州皇家峽谷大桥。
法国总统雅克·希拉克将在周四的落成仪式上正式宣布启动密佑高架桥，此时距工程开工已经几乎整整三年了。法国建筑业巨头埃法日集团共雇佣了大约3千人参与施工，并将拥有今后75年的通行税征收权。
修建该桥是为了开创一条穿越法国中部的新南北路线，缓解来自前往地中海和西班牙的卡车司机和旅游者的压力。之前，人流主要通过业已饱和的罗纳河谷通道往东。
埃法日集团预计平均每日的车流量约为一万辆，在通行税涨价的夏季高峰期则可达到两万五千辆。如果事实证明密佑高架桥的赢利能力大大超出预计，法国政府有权从2044年起收回桥梁的经营权。
（中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2004-12-15 10:44