Diseño de giro protegido para eliminar el congestionamiento vehicular en la Avenida la República y calle Santa Rosa en Huaquillas

Abstract

This work describes the methodology used to solve the congestion of an intersection formed by La República avenue and Santa Rosa street in the urban center of the canton Huaquillas, by means of a protected turn that redirects traffic with a U turn from Santa Rosa street to Hualtaco avenue, crossing the central park of the city, El Algarrobo. The problem of traffic congestion is a very frequent issue in the city, and it is an indicator that stops the development of the city, since it does not guarantee that the population and visitors have effective mobility within the canton. The process used to solve the problem consists of a topographic survey with a drone and GPS to obtain planimetric and altimetric values as accurately as possible, since there are many security complications in the area, which prevents the study from being carried out using more precise equipment with a total station or an RTK. Then, vehicle gauging was carried out during peak hours for a full week, looking for the best projection of the real traffic of the intersection, for this stage manual tools were used and with the help of three gauges observing the different maneuvers covered by the intersection. The Synchro 8 program was also used to simulate the traffic obtained in the gauging to obtain a model of the vehicular flow of the intersection and to optimally visualize the problem. Likewise, the proposed solution was also simulated, validating its operation and guaranteeing the results expected to be obtained through its application. Subsequently, using an analysis and design program, such as Civil3D, a protected turning design was proposed that complies with current regulations, follows the recommendations of publications by other expert authors on the subject and fits in the space available in the area where the park currently exists, affecting this tourist niche in the least possible way, but contributing greatly to the city's road development and other economic axes such as commerce. As a result of the design, a single lane protected turn with curbs and gutters was obtained with a design speed projection of 20 km/h. In addition, it has a road widening on Santa Rosa street, creating an exclusive lane for those who are going to make use of this maneuver, allowing to clear the intersection from before reaching it. Finally, the project was programmed and budgeted using Excel and Project spreadsheets to estimate the cost and duration of the work based on the activities to be carried out for the civil work, trying to economize as much as possible without affecting the viability of the project or the safety of those who use it, protecting the capital invested, the time that would be used and the interests of those who will use the service. The final cost was $24986.04 dollars excluding IVA, to execute the construction of the civil project in a period of 51 days.