The Millau Viaduct in southern France is the highest road bridge in the world at 300m tall. It has 7 pillars and spans the Tarn Valley. British architect Norman Foster designed the bridge to appear delicate like a butterfly. Construction involved raising the huge concrete pillars with a climbing system. The 36,000 ton steel deck was then launched section by section onto the pillars. Steel pylons weighing 650 tons each were erected on top of the pillars to support cables. The privately financed bridge cost €394 million to build and opened in 2004, cutting travel time across the region.

1. Operations Management: Millau Viaduct
Group 6, SYBBA B

2. Millau Viaduct
The Millau Viaduct is in southern France and crosses the River
Tarn in the Massif Central mountains.
It was designed by the British architect Lord Foster and at
300m (984 feet) it is the highest road bridge in the world,
weighing 36,000 tonnes.
The central pillar is higher than the famous French icon, the
Eiffel Tower.
The Bridge opened in December 2004 and is possibly one of
the most breath taking bridges ever built.

3. • The bridge towers above
the Tarn Valley and the aim
of Lord Foster was to
design a bridge with the
‘delicacy of a butter fly’.
• Lord Foster designed a
bridge that enhances the
natural beauty of the valley,
with the environment
dominating the scene
rather than the bridge.
• The bridge appears to float
on the clouds despite the
fact that it has seven pillars
and a roadway of 1½ miles
in length.

4. The bridge was opened by President Jacques Chirac.
In his speech he praised the design saying that it was
a ‘monument to French engineering genius’ and ‘a
miracle of equilibrium’.
The aim is to cut the travelling time to southern
France, removing the bottle neck at Millau, through
the completion of the motorway between Paris and
the Mediterranean.

5. The bridge was entirely
privately financed and cost 394
million euros (272 million
pounds, 524 million dollars).
The builders, Eiffage, financed
the construction in return for a
concession to collect the tolls
for 75 years, until 2080.
However, if the concession is
very profitable, the French
government can assume control
of the bridge in 2044.

6. Construction of Millau Viaduct

7. Steel deck with multiple sub-bended
spans.
Steel deck with continuous spans
of constant depth.
Steel or concrete deck with multiple
cables-stayed spans
Concrete bridge including an arch with
an opening 600m wide over the River Tarn
Viaduct with continuous spans
of variable depth in concrete or
composite material

8. 7 piers P1 to P7
2 abutments C0 & C8
6 spans 342 m long
2 side -spans 204 m long

9. 6 STAGES OF CONSTRUCTION
1. Raising the piers
2. Throwing the deck
3. Joining the deck
4. Installing the pylons
5. The stays
6. Finishings

10. Raising the Piers

11. Piers - The piers are the towering part of the structure with the tallest
one reaching over 245 meters tall. The piers hold the road way and
the pylons.
1. The piers were constructed using reinforced concrete. The piers
have the design of tapering down from top to bottom. The seven
piers are identical except for the length due to the valley bottom.
2. The piers have been constructed using an automatic rail climbing
system or ACS. The system required the bottom section the pier be
constructed then the climbing system attached to rail secured to
the pier. Allowing the system to move up the piers independently .
3. The ACS would pour 4 meter sections of concrete at a time
allowing accurate pours and ensuring structural stability.
4. The ACS enabled the piers to be built on schedule. The system
allowed for a correct pour each time it moved up the pier.

12. Pier Design
The pier design : flexible
piers at their base =strong
distortion of the deck
Pier design : piers with flexural
rigidity at their base=Less
distortion of the deck

13. Actual Pier Pier 2

14. Throwing the deck

15. Usage of Temporary Piers

16. 1. Once these temporary piers were erected, placement of the 36,000-ton (32,659 t)
prefabricated deck began.
1. Placing the deck began in late February 2003. By March 26, 2004, the deck had
progressed to the third pier. During the evenings of April 4 and 5, 2004, the deck
arrived at the second pier with the last launch accomplished on May 28, 2004.
1. Decks were placed with the help of hydraulics from Enerpac.
1. Simply pushing this enormous weight over the top of the venerable piers would bring
them crashing to the ground. The construction team made a launching system in
which they use a series of launching systems to jack up the deck and inch it forward
each system uses two wedge shape block on each side of the deck. the upper wedge
is pulled forward by hydraulic system its slides up the slope of the lower wedge
same time lifting the deck from it supports and advancing it 600 mm. the lower
wedge then retracts dropping the deck to its support the upper wedge returns to its
original position and the whole cycles begins again. Four of these devices are placed
on each piers all programmed to work exactly at a same time. The result is they pick
up the entire road way and move it forward. Every 4 minutes the deck advances 6mm
across the valley.

17. Joining the deck

18. Moving the deck could be
accomplished three ways:
manual, semi-automatic and
automatic.
Manual mode was used for
adjustments and any necessary
instant corrections.
In the semi-automatic mode, each
movement was made step by
step, or, in other words, raise,
push, lower, and then withdraw.
Automatic mode completed each
entire launch cycle.

19. The technically advanced hydraulic
system was designed to push the
27,35 m wide deck (with a capacity for
six lanes plus hard shoulders) from
both sides onto the seven concrete
piers.
During the launching process, the
deck will be supported by seven
temporary metal piers.
The enormous yet at the same time
“light” deck was pushed by means of
hydraulic launching devices on each
pier, which first lift and then push the
deck.
An adjustable nose structure at the
end of the deck, allows the deck to
land on each pier as it approaches it.

20. In all, 18 launches — six from
the north side of the bridge and
12 from the south — were
required to position the deck,
with the last launch
accomplished on May 28, 2004.

21. Installing
the pylons

22. Seven pylons had to be raised
Each of these steel pylons takes the form of an
inverted Y, 77 metres high and weighing 650
tonnes.
They were prefabricated on site and then
raised
this was quicker and reduced not only the risk
of interruption because of strong winds but also
the problems of safety
Once the assembly and welding work was
complete, the pylon is transported flat onto the
viaduct deck by means of a special multi-axle
lowered Kamag trailer weighing 200 tonnes.
The pylon is manoeuvred into a vertical
position using lifting towers rather than mobile
cranes because of its speed, narrow confines
of the deck, weather risks and safety
requirements.

23. The time taken to lift a pylon
is around 6-7 hours.
All the operations involving
the pylon, including loading,
transportation, lifting and
welding to the deck, and the
lifting tower and putting it in
position was at the rate of one
pylon per week.

24. THE STAYS

25. Each pylon of the viaduct is equipped with a
monoaxial layer of eleven pairs of stays laid
face to face.
Depending on their length, the stays were
made of 55 to 91 high tensile steel cables, or
strands, themselves formed of seven strands of
steel
Each strand has triple protection against
corrosion and the stay-cables weight about
1,500 tons
The exterior envelope of the stays is itself
coated along its entire length with a double
helical weatherstrip. The idea is to avoid
running water which, in high winds, could
cause vibration in the stays and compromise
the stability of the viaduct.
The stays were installed using a well-tried
technique. After threading one strand in the
outer protective sheath, it is pulled up on to the
pylon to its final location.
The strand is then fixed in the upper and lower
anchorage points. A 'shuttle' then brings the
other strands one by one, and they are then
stretched to tension."

26. FINISHINGS
The surface (the covering of the road) of the millau viaduct is the result of several months of research. It was designed to withstand
any distortion of deck & provide the necessary qualities for comfortable motorway driving. It took less than four days work to lay it.
Final finishing touches: electric lighting, signposts, operating systems, final road covering.

27. To make the world’s tallest bridge

28. Material Handling

29. What is material handling ?
Material Handling is the movement, storage, control and
protection of materials, goods and products throughout the
process of manufacturing, distribution, consumption and
disposal.
The focus is on the methods, mechanical equipment,
systems and related controls used to achieve these
functions.
Material handling is an integral part of any industrial activity
as greater emphasis is laid on productivity, profitability as
well as resource conservation and ecological preservation.
Material handling plays a very crucial role in sustaining
efficiency in financial and human resources.

30. Millau Bridge
-Weight 242000 tonnes
-Estimated life 120 years

31. MAJOR MATERIALS :
1. STEEL :
Steel is used in many places where concrete was earlier used
The cost of steel and concrete was about 390 million euros (520 million
dollars).
The project required about 19,000 metric tons of steel for the reinforced
concrete, and 5,000 metric tons of pre-stressed steel for the cables and
shrouds.
The bridge is constructed out of 2,078 steel pieces made by the EIFFEL
Company, the successor of the company that built the Eiffel Tower
The deck and pylons are made of steel sheets of grade S355 and S460.

32. • All steel components were welded
together, assembled and painted
at ground level, and in many cases
even in an indoor workshop.
• This had a favorable effect on the
quality of the finished pieces, on
the safety of the workforce and on
cost as steel is a recyclable metal

33. 2. CONCRETE :
The project required about 127,000 m³ of concrete.
The concrete of the abutments and piles amounted to 85 000 m3, 40 times
the Eiffel Tower
The massive piers are made from type B60 concrete, a high-strength
concrete with durability characteristics more than its mechanical
resistance.
During construction of the bridge concrete pours were made 4m tall

34. 3. Stay Cable material :
The stay cables are made from T15 strands of class 1,860MPa which are
super-galvanized, sheathed, and waxed.
The cables are protected by a white, aerodynamic sheath made from non-
injected PEHD (high-density polyethylene)
Developed by through a collaboration between Buonomo, Servant,
Virlogeux, Cremer, Goyet and Del Forno

35. ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY USE OF MATERIALS
Steel was used in most places instead of concrete which reduced the use
of trucks.
Included a system for collecting and processing rainwater and other waste
which would be accumulated during road washing
Excess construction materials were carefully stored to use them for other
operations
- wood was sent to paper mills
- oil and lubricants were sent for recycling
Various sites of production zones had been selected with an intention to
keep hedge and bush felling to the minimum

36. PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED

37. IDEA
•The Millau Viaduct being one of the most extensive projects ever
tackled by the construction industry faced huge challenges
particularly due its location and enormous size.
•CivilEngineer Michel Virlogeux ,was attempting to push the limits of
engineering and create something that had never been done before
when he came up with his idea for the design of the Millau Viaduct.
With architect Sir Norman Foster he created a sweeping elegant
design for the structure that would also be structurally sound.

38. •Thefinal design was without a doubt one of the most
appealing ever before created and proved that “big doesn’t
always have to look brawny.”
•After 14 years of intense planning the construction began.

39. CONSTRUCTION
MAJOR CHALLENGES:
1. Build the tallest bridge piers in the world.
2. Put a 36000 ton free way on top of them.
3. Erect 7 steel pylons each weights 700 tons.
4. Land

40. 1. PIERS
• There are 7 piers that are numbered from the northern end of the valley. Number 1 was to
cause problems because of steep slope. Number 2 was the tallest across the river number
3 was not much shorter from no. 2. Then 4, 5, 6 and 7 found the genital slope to the south.
• 16000 tons of steel bars are used. The shape of each pair is complicated as a result each
time they removed the section of red steel sheltering they have to change the shape of the
mold to fit the profile of the next 4 meter section man handling these steel panels way up
to 15 tons of piece is no picnic. And with the combine height of 7 piers totaling well over a
kilometer they had to change the shape of the mold over 250 times.
• Every 3 days each team on each pair went through this whole cycle then they repeated the
process but it was time consuming.Month after month the piers climbed higher finally by
November 2003 they reached their full height. At 245 meters pair 2 becomes the highest
bridge pier in the world. The piers were exactly on the location where it had to be with 2cm
deviation.

41. 2. Free way on top of them.
• Second problem was putting a 36000 ton free way on top of the piers. Working
at these heights could be lethal. Around 235 people died in the process.
• Therefore the team decided to fabricate the entire rope deck on the safety of
solid grounds instead of concrete, steel was used for the deck which in theory
would be much safer then lifting concrete sections hundreds of meters in the
position. EIFFEL, the steel firm took up the challenge.
• This involved manufacturing 2200 separate sections weighing up to 90 tons and
some of them 22 meters long. Their accuracy was measured with laser to within
a fraction of a millimeter. The triangular side panel were welded on either side
to create width for a 4 lane high way. They automated the manufacturing with a
two headed welding robot and a plasma cutting machine each cutting pattern or
template was programmed in to the computer then the machine automatically
blazes its way through the steel.

42. 3. Erect the steel pylons
• Another problem faced with construction was the need to eliminate error in
position.
• The pylons were of such enormous heights that being off even the
slightest at the bottom of the pylon could spell disaster at the top of the
pylon in the form of meters off the intended mark.
• When considering the pylons, other challenges faced included: pouring
the cement in a timely manner as to prevent from setting, hurricane grade
winds faced by workers, and the intricate design of each pylon moving to
the overall construction of the bridge.
• This made constructing the platform a challenge all its own. Spans of this
great length in the past have spelled disaster in the form of collapse of the
structure and death of workers.
• The road spans also would be at the highest point putting the winds at
even larger velocities. Placing the 700 ton pylons atop the bridge and
adding even more weight to the roadways also served as challenges that
could result in the destruction and abrupt end of the Millau Viaduct.

43. 4. LAND
•Another challenge to overcome was the need to drill and bury the
foundations of the massive pylons deep into the bed rock.
•The challenge here was that there are cavities throughout the
country side that have fractured the limestone. These cavities are
necessary to the survival of the local cheese industry. This terrain is
responsible for containing the bacteria responsible for the blue
mold necessary to make Roquefort cheese.
•The cracked limestone meant one thing, landslides! Not far into the
project this problem became a reality, with a landslide pushing rock
and dirt into the first pylon. This landslide however, did not hurt the
pylon.

44. THANK YOU!
Mihir Mandrekar B030
Surbhi Mehta B032
Abhilasha Mohan Ram B034
Rohan Negi B035
Dhawal Pasad B037