Statement 2008

4 670 449 vehicles crossed the Viaduct of Millau in 2008, representing an increase of 3.04 %, compared to 2007.

This evolution is as follows:

• + 2.61 % for LV (light vehicles);
• + 8.07 % for HGV (heavy goods vehicles).

The most direct route* between Spain and the Paris area has conquered new carriers. Indeed, 392 048 lorries have been recorded (nearly 30 000 more than in 2007), an average of 1 071 HGV per day on 366 days (or 1 568 per working day).
The HGV traffic represents 8.39 % of total traffic.

A new record was registered on 2 August 2008 with 58 826 crossings, while the 18 000 000th crossed the viaduct on 20 December 2008.
Regarding tourism, the Viaduct of Millau continues to attract visitors. The two places dedicated to the knowledge of the structure** welcomed 676 000 people, including 12 400 who followed an Eiffage guided tour.

* The A75 route is one of the North-South routes, such as routes through Bordeaux, Limoges or Lyon.
** “Viaduc Espace Info” (“Les Cazalous”), located under the viaduct, and “Viaduc Expo”, located on the“Aire du Viaduc de Millau”.

TRAFFIC INFO

Traffic in 2006 was the same as that recorded the previous year: 4,347,930 vehicles took the Millau Viaduct in 2006, compared to 4,353,799 in 2005, making a difference of 5,869 vehicles.
The seasonal character of the traffic on the A75 is confirmed with a record number of vehicles on 12 August 2006: 53,795 vehicles crossed the Millau Viaduct. The previous record dated back to 31 July 2005 with 50,018 vehicles recorded at the tollgate.
Extending the toll barrier from 14 to 18 lanes has allowed this traffic to pass through without mishap and with no noticeable tailbacks.

ViaducT INFORMATION

Information Pavilion:
Viaduct Information "Les Cazalous", RD 992, F-12100 CREISSELS
Open 7 days a week
Free access – booking compulsory for groups
High season: 10 am / 7 pm
Off peak season (when the clocks change): 10 am / 5.30 pm
Contents:

• The story of its construction with film, model, etc.
• Souvenir shop.
• Tourist Information

NEW: GUIDED TOUR OF THE JARDIN DES EXPLORATEURS (GARDEN OF THE EXPLORERS)

The Compagnie Eiffage du Viaduc de Millau invites you to the heart of an open-air exhibition: 6 000 m2 to discover this record-breaking Viaduct.
An entertaining visit allows you into a life-size re-creation of the base of pylon P2!
You can see how a hydraulic ram works, the device that was used to slide the deck across.
You can access the belvedere for a unique view over the Viaduct and its P2 pylon, the highest in the world.

Bookings on +33(0)5 65 58 80 65 or contact@ot-millau.fr

* only from March to October

INCREASED TOLL RATES FROM 1fEBRUARY 2008

In compliance with article 25 of the contract de concession signed with the government, the toll rates for the Millau Viaduct were increased on 1 February 2008.

This rise is based on the increase in the consumer price index, excluding tobacco (October 2007)..

New rates:

Class	Vehicles	Off peak		Summer *
		HT	TTC	HT	TTC
1		4,68 €	5,60 €	6,19 €	7,40 €
2		7,11 €	8,50 €	9,20 €	11,00 €
3		16,89 €	20,20 €	16,89 €	20,20 €
4		22,99 €	27,50 €	22,99 €	27,50 €
5		3,09 €	3,70 €	3,09 €	3,70 €
* Summer> from 2008-07-01 to 2008-08-31

The Via 10+1 card is available for € 56 or  € 5.09 per crossing. This card is product by the Compagnie Eiffage du Viaduc de Millau. It is not nominative and has no time limit, and entitles the holder to 11 crossings for the price of 10 at the same price whatever the time of year. The card can be recharged for 11, 22, 33 or 44 crossings.

TAKE THE VIADUCT AND DISCOVER DJERBA!

From 12 April to 31 August 2007 the Compagnie Eiffage du Viaduc de Millau organised a "special truck drivers" competition, to find the most economic route in terms of time and money between Paris and Perpignan.

Prizes were drawn on 20 September 2007, under legal supervision, to find the winners of the 1st to 101st prizes.

The first prize, a trip for 2 to Djerba, was won by William Garraud, an HGV driver from Béziers.

The winners of the 2nd to 101st prizes each won a voucher for a meal at the Ferme de Bonsecours, located on the A75, not far from the Millau Viaduct.
All the participants in the competition will receive a campaign T-shirt.

FROM DREAMS TO REALITY: The Millau Viaduct race is on the road at last

IThis is a unique race in which 10,000 runners will be able to cross the famous Millau Viaduct in both directions, i.e. nearly 6 km on the highest viaduct in the world.

The race will be 23 km long, an unusual distance for an exceptional race.

Admissions will be open from 5 October.

Information, news and advice for training or preparing for the event will be available on this website and in the racing magazine VO2 Runinlive which is organising the event..

ALONG THE RACE COURSE: The race km by km

. DEPARTURE PLACE DU MANDAROUS: 0
. HOSPITAL ROUNDABOUT: 1.7km
. RAILWAY: 2.3km
. PASSAGE UNDER THE BLUE BRIDGE: 5.3km
. ENTRY ONTO THE NORTH TRACK: 5.8km
. 1st FOOD SUPPLY: 6.2km
. 2nd PASSAGE UNDER THE VIADUCT: 7km
. 3rd PASSAGE UNDER THE VIADUCT: 7.5km
. ENTRY TO MOTORWAY REST AREA: 8.2km
. ENTRY TO MOTORWAY: 9.4km
. ENTRY ON TO VIADUCT: 10.1km
. END OF VIADUCT: 12.5km
. 2nd FOOD SUPPLY: 13.5km
. 2nd ENTRY ON TO VIADUCT: 13.7km
. END OF VIADUCT: 16.2km
. END OF MOTORWAY: 17.9km
. ROUTE DE LA CADENEDE: 19.3km
. 3rd FOOD SUPPLY FIRING RANGE: 20.4km
. ROUTE DE MONPLAISIR: 22.6km
. AVENUE CHARLES DE GAULLE: 23.5km
. ARRIVAL PARC DE LA VICTOIRE: 23.7km

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: All your questions, all our answers

Is the race open to walkers?
No, this is a running race. But the time limit of 3 1/2 hours would enable a well-trained walker-runner to take part and finish within the time limit doing an average of 6.6 kph.

Will a time barrier be set up on the course?
Yes, a time barrier will be set in place at the top of the slope at 8.2 km before reaching the motorway and then on the viaduct. All the runners who have not crossed the barrier at 10:15’ will be eliminated and redirected to the route de la Cadenède, towards Millau.

SIs it an official race, approved by the FFA?
It is a race listed on the official calendar of off-stadium races but it will not be approved. The course will not be measured officially by a measurer from the FFA.

Will there be financial rewards for the best runners?
No, this is a popular race, open to all, and prizes will be identical for everyone, from the first to the last. There will be no departure or arrival bonuses.

Will the roads used be closed to traffic?
Yes, all the streets, avenues, roads and the motorway will be closed to traffic during the race. The motorway will even be closed in both directions for 5 hours, and traffic will be diverted through Millau on the N9.

What will the main difficulty of the race be?
The first big difficulty will be the climb up to the viaduct by the North Track. A 2.4km winding slope with a climb of 300m.
The second difficulty will be the first crossing of the Viaduct from North to South, with a slope of 3% or a difference in height of 80m for a distance of 2.5km.

Will there be a safety system in place on the viaduct?
Yes, a safety system will be in place the whole length of the viaduct on both lanes to make sure that the safety instructions set up by the organisers are obeyed.

Will it be possible to stop for a moment on the viaduct to take a photo?
Yes of course, it is a good idea to keep a souvenir of the event. But make sure you do not disturb the race and get in the way of the considerable number of runners. It will be absolutely forbidden to cross the safety barrier to take a photo of the valley through the windbreaker.

Will it be possible to collect the numbers the day before or the morning of the race?
No, the numbers will be sent to the registered runners with a valid race bulletin. Only numbers for foreign runners will be given out the day before or in the morning of the race in the Salle des Fêtes in Millau, Parc de la Victoire.

What kind of food and drink are provided?
Water, gingerbread and dried fruit. The runners will be advised to take two or three gels with them to cover all their energy needs during the race (one gel to be taken for every hour of running). All rubbish from the race (plastic water bottles and gel or energy bar wrappings) MUST be thrown away in the bins provided. No rubbish will be tolerated on the course in order to preserve the site of the race.

Will spectators be allowed to access the Viaduct?
No, spectators will not be permitted to access the North site road, the motorway section or the Viaduct. Only runners will be permitted on these portions, equipped with the official number, easily visible on their chests.

Four extra lanes for the toll gate of the Millau Viaduct

After the record traffic levels in 2005 (more than 50,000 vehicles on 30 July 2005) and the resulting long tailbacks, the Compagnie Eiffage du Viaduct de Millau has decided to enlarge the tollgate and to add 4 lanes to the existing 14. To increase the capacity of the tollgate, extra equipment has been added to the existing lanes.

The works schedule for the extension to the gate was very short: 5 months to add 4 extra lanes under very difficult working conditions, as traffic continued throughout.
Total respect for the procedures and effective physical protection enabled each company to meet the deadlines without compromising the quality of the work.

A total of about ten companies were directly involved in the worksite between 31 January and mid June: earthworks, civil engineering, road surface, electricity, air conditioning, toll booths, pneumatic funds transfer, video surveillance, payment systems, etc.

A more efficient tollgate

The tollgate will be more efficient as there are more means of payment allowing for greater flexibility:

Two automatic pay points for HGVs have been added, equipped with the future HGV electronic toll collection system, thus providing 10 automatic lanes compared to 8 at present.

Two double booths have been installed, making a total of three on the central lanes, and can work in both directions
In total, there can be 16 manually operated lanes on days when traffic is heavy and two lanes for the electronic toll collection system. There will be 18 lanes that can be adjusted to 7 + 11 or 11 + 7 depending on the traffic.

This more flexible operating system at the tollgate will allow the viaduct to open with more automatic gates during the week and more manual lanes (with an operator) at the weekend and enable it to cope with the increasing volume of traffic (ranging from 4500 vehicles a day on quieter days to 50,000 on peak days).

A total of 4.2 million euros has been invested to offer users an easier crossing whatever traffic conditions.

Speed limit on the crossing of the Millau viaduct–A.75 Motorway