Millau Viaduct

 

Millau viaduct holds the world record for the tallest bridge, culminating at 343 metres (higher than the Eiffel tower), 2460 metres long and touching the bottom of the Tarn valley in only 9 places.

Conceived by the French engineer Michel Virlogeux and designed by the English architect Lord Norman Foster, it fits perfectly into the naturally intact and grandiose landscape : a very thin slightly curved steel roadway supported by stays gives it the appearance of a huge yacht and the ensemble rests on 7 very slender pillars.

Millau viaduct constitutes the most spectacular link in La Méridienne: the A75 motorway, linking Clermont-Ferrand with Béziers and Narbonne, which is the least congested and cheapest route between Paris and the Mediterranean…

Resting to the north on the Lévézou and to the south on the Causse du Larzac, Millau viaduct crosses the Tarn valley, a few hundred yards from Peyre, one of the 10 “plus beaux villages de France” (most beautiful villages in France) found in the département of the Aveyron.

It is, of course, very close to Millau, “ville d’Art et d’Histoire”, outdoor sports capital and gateway to the Gorges Tarn.

 

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For two years after its completion in late 2005, the Donghai Bridge was the longest cross-sea bridge in the world

 

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The Overseas Highway, Florida Keys

 

The Overseas Highway, Florida Keys : Built in 1938 on top of what was once the Overseas Railroad

which was destroyed by the Labor Day Hurricane that swept through the Florida Keys in 1935

the Overseas Highway stretches nearly 130 miles from end to end, mostly over water across 42 bridges between Key Largo and Key West.

If you arrive on the highway at the right time, you can see some of the most awe-inspiring sunrises and sunsets anywhere in the country.

Be prepared to idle on the highway if you come during the high tourist season, however.

A drive that usually takes about four hours to complete can take quite a bit longer, especially on holiday weekends.

 

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The Melkwegbridge, Purmerend, Netherlands

 

Often a problem for engineers is to provide for a range of people to use their designs, this bridge has done that with style.

This bridge had to accommodate bikes, pedestrians and wheelchairs. The solution? make two bridges in one.

The lower for bikes and wheelchairs, however wheelchairs need very shallow ramps for access, which made the bridge a really long Z shape, almost 330 feet long.

Another solution was to add a short but steep bridge for pedestrians who could climb up the arch, 40 feet high, and get a great view too.

The lower bridge actually swings open for bigger boats, although the pivot point is very close to one end, that’s one big cantilever

 

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A monumental steel arch built on a grand scale not often seen in bridge construction, the New River Gorge bridge in the U.S. state of West Virginia opened in 1977 as the highest and longest arch bridge in the world (at that time) with a height of 267 metres and a main span of 518 metres.

Built at a cost of 37 million dollars, the bridge was designed by the large engineering firm of Michael Baker, Jr. and constructed by the legendary American Bridge Company.

Abandoned coal mine shafts just above the massive arch foundations on both sides of the gorge were filled with grout to prevent unwanted ground settlement.

The decision to use a special type of steel that develops a brown coloured rust coating that naturally protects the steel saves the West Virginia Department of Transportation a million dollars as they don’t need to paint the bridge and gives the span a natural, rugged look that blends into the tree-filled surroundings.

 

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The Cayan tower is the tallest twisted tower in the world. Inaugurated earlier this week in Dubai Marina. Built at a cost of $272 million, setting yet another record for skyscrapers and other engineering marvels.

The 310-metre, 75-storey residential Cayan Tower rotates by 1.2 degrees to create a 90 degree twist from top to bottom.

It was designed by Chicago-based Skidmore Owings and Merrill, the masterminds behind Burj Khalifa, which is the world’s tallest building and also in Dubai.

Construction began in 2006, but was delayed due to major technical problems and the 2009 economic downturn in Dubai triggered by the global financial crisis meaning it was only managed to be complete this week.

The tower was designed to mimic the shape of the structure of human DNA.

 

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Kathipara Junction, Channai, India

 

Completed on 26 October 2008. Kathipara Junction is an important road junction in India.

It is located at Alandur, (St.Thomas Mount), south of Guindy, at the intersection of the Grand Southern Trunk Road (NH 45), Inner Ring Road, Anna Salai and the Mount-Poonamallee Road.

Kathipara flyover is the largest cloverleaf flyover in the whole of Asia.

 

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Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai, China

 

Being the third tallest building only to Shanghai Tower and Shanghai World

Financial Center in mainland China, Jin Mao Tower is located in the center

of Lujiazui Finance and Trade Districts in Pudong.

 

The tower is designed to withstand an earthquake of 6 on the Richter scale

and the strongest level of typhoon.

The tower has an observatory (with a floor space of 1,520 square metres)

on the 88th floor, at a height of 340.1 metres.

It is the largest and highest observation deck in China.

 

The maximum elevator speed is 546 m/min

The 88-stories Jin Mao Tower was completed in 1999.

It is 420.5 meters (almost 1380 feet) tall and covers an area of 2.3 hectares (5.68 acres).

The architect, Adrian D. Smith, of this skyscraper ingeniously combined the elements of

traditional Chinese culture with the newest architectural styles of the time, which makes it one

of the best-constructed buildings in China.

 

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A famous stone bridge built over the river Soča north of Nova Gorica, Slovenia. It was completed in 1906, when this part of Slovenia was under Austrian rule.

The original bridge only had a lifespan of 10 years. In 1916 it was destroyed by the Austrian army, which retreated from the Italians in order to cut them off from the Soča valley.

When this area fell under the Italian rule (Italian fascism), the bridge was rebuilt and completed in 1927. That bridge was constructed with one sub-arch less, it only has 4, the original has five.

The version from 1927 is still intact and you can see it today. It has an arch span of 85 metres (279 ft) and is the second-longest stone bridge in the world and the longest stone bridge to bear the weight of trains.

It’s a wonderful site. The river is famed for its emerald green water. In fact, it is said to be one of the rare rivers in the world that retain such a colour throughout their length.

Not surprisingly there are several ‘extreme’ things you can do on the Soča river; bungee jumping off the bridge being one!!

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The bright white 70 meters (230Ft) tall bridge pylon can be seen from far away. Attached to the top are 24 cables that suspend a large bicycle roundabout, 72 meters (236Ft) in diameter, that seems to float over a large new junction for motorized traffic.

The exceptional piece of bicycle infrastructure was built to stand out. It is to be the iconic new landmark that signals ‘you are entering Eindhoven’.

At night the slender bike ring is lit from below to further enhance that floating effect.

Building such a unique ‘circular bridge’ was more difficult than expected. During construction, early 2012, the cables vibrated much more than they were supposed to in the Dutch winds. Experts recalculated the design specifications and with some modifications and counter weights the cables became much more stable.

 

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