Foster and Partners' viaduct at Millau in southern France was given the royal once-over this week by the Queen and Prince Philip. The viaduct, which will complete a motorway linking Paris to Barcelona, spans the plateau to the north and south of the Tarn gorge. The 2.5 km multispan cable structure lies 260 m above the River Tarn. Foster and Partners worked on the scheme with an engineering consultancy group led by French engineer Michel Virlogeux. The project started in October 2001 and is due for completion in January 2005. The royal couple dropped in on the last day of a three-day state visit to France to mark the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale.