The Millau Bridge (viaduc de Millau) was inaugurated today by President Chirac of France. The bridge is the world's tallest, being more than 300m (948 feet) high, and traverses the River Tarn close to the town of Millau. It is expected that the new bridge will dramatically reduce congestion in the town, specially during the busy summer months, by linking two parts of the already existing motorway. France has a history of building spectacular transport infrastructure and public buildings; this latest example was financed entirely by the private sector, in exchange for the right to charge a toll fee for crossing the bridge for 75 years, although the government may pre-empt this arragement after 2044, if it proves more profitable than projected.
What can one say, but Wow!
(I feel a bit of a 'heel' for mentioning a pertinent fact, though - President Chirac chose today as the first occasion (this 'Figaro' article is in French) when he would be seen in public with disgraced former-Prime Minister Alain Juppe, since the latter was convicted and sentenced to a 14-month suspended prison sentence and banned from public office for a year. He was PM when the architect - Norman Foster of Britain - was chosen)
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