Rauze Viaduct Explained

Bridge Name:Rauze Viaduct
Native Name:Viaduc de la Rauze
Carries:Vehicles on the A20 autoroute
Crosses:River Rauze
Locale:Nadillac, southern France
Architect:Alain Montois
Charles Lavigne
Design:Box girder bridge
Material:Reinforced concrete
Length:556m (1,824feet)
Width:23.94m (78.54feet)
Height:101m (331feet)
Mainspan:130m (430feet)[1]
Spans:5
Builder:Dodin Campenon-Bernard
Spie Batignolles (prestressed concrete)
Demathieu Bard
Sogea
Fabricator:SAMT
Begin:January 1999
Complete:March 2001
Cost:167m francs[2]
Open:12 July 2001
Coordinates:44.5565°N 1.5158°W

The Rauze Viaduct is a concrete box-girder bridge located in southern France, at around 330 ft high. The bridge can carry heavy vehicles and loads on the A20 autoroute. It crosses the specific River Rauze.

History

Design

The structural engineering was by SECOA (Société d'étude et de calculs en ouvrages d'art).[3] It is a haunched girder bridge. The area is designated under Natura 2000 as a natural fauna ecological area, so none of the piers could be put in the river. The three central spans are 130 m long, with the other outer spans being 91 m and 74 m long.

Construction

It was built by Dodin Campenon-Bernard, with the balanced cantilever method. Pre-stressing was by Spie Précontrainte (Spie Batignolles) of Cergy in Paris. 28,000 cubic metres of concrete were required; the limestone came from a quarry in Cahors. Steel fabrication was by SAMT of Saint-Chamas. The autoroute scheme was completed on 20 June 2001, and opened on 12 July 2001.

Structure

It is in the Lot department in the Occitanie region, 5 km north-west of Cahors.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rauze Viaduct - HighestBridges.com. www.highestbridges.com.
  2. Des piles demi-cylindriques pour le viaduc de la Rauze. lemoniteur.fr. 26 May 2000 . Moniteur . Le .
  3. Web site: SECOA : Références. www.secoa.fr.