Avaliação de estradas não pavimentadas no município de Pato Branco - PR

Abstract

In Brazil, almost 90% of the highways are unpaved, despite the great importance of these structures for the country's economic development, especially for the flow of agricultural production. Without roads with adequate rolling conditions, rural populations are hampered by the lack of access to basic structures such as schools, hospitals, markets and the urban center itself. For this reason, it is essential to have public management tools that contribute to keeping the road infrastructure in good condition. However, the lack of application of rational management methods for unpaved roads in Brazilian municipalities is common, resulting in poor allocation of public resources and poor quality roads. In this work, vertical acceleration data provided by a smartphone attached to the windshield of a vehicle were used to estimate the comfort condition of unpaved rural road segments in the municipality of Pato Branco (PR), as well as the application of Unpaved Road Condition Index (ICRNP) for the assessment and prioritization of Maintenance and Rehabilitation (M&R) activities on the roads selected for the study. The vertical acceleration values indicated a high level of discomfort, with all stretches classified as ‘extremely uncomfortable’, according to the international comfort standard ISO 2631-1, while the ICRNP data indicated the concept ‘very poor’ for all analyzed excerpts. To mitigate the observed defects, road maintenance is suggested, in particular the application of patrol services to correct improper cross sections and execution and maintenance of drainage devices, since these failures are associated with the appearance of other defects. It was also concluded that the investments to keep the roads in good traffic conditions are lower than those necessary for paving them.