For decades Millau has been clogged in summer by a weight of traffic that beggars belief. From January, though, this old French glove-making town will be liberated. The traffic that races down the A75, connecting Paris through the Massif Central to the Cote d'Azur and on to Spain, will be diverted over the Tarn Gorge some way east of the town, across one of the world's most breathtaking bridges. A sublime marriage of British and French architecture and engineering, the Grand Viaduc du Millau outdoes even the stirring 10-year-old Pont du Normandie that spans the mouth of the Seine between Honfleur and Le Havre. With a 2.5km span, the Millau bridge is far from the longest in the world, yet it is surely one of the most beautiful. In terms of artistry, it challenges the Garabit viaduct, which Gustave Eiffel built across the River Truyère in 1884.
