The 80 kilometers of roadway are far from complying with national and international safety standards: expert…..
THE Mérida peripheral expressway contains errors in its construction and design that make it a dangerous road that so far this year alone has claimed the lives of 11 people.
The road adviser René Flores Ayora said that the 11 deaths could have been avoided.
“The lighting poles with large concrete bases, the undulations, hollows, trees, little signage and at night the large sections without lighting, all have claimed lives,” he said.
The specialist stated that the 80 kilometers of roadway have clear errors in their design and functionality, and it is clear that they are far from complying with international and national standards.
As an example, he mentioned that the Highway Geometric Project of the Ministry of Communications and Transportation was not applied.
“The peripheral expressway of Mérida has columns of the overpasses less than 1.50 meters from the traffic lanes; boundaries outside norm; light poles with an excessive foundation for this type of road, which after an impact at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour has caused the loss of human lives,” he said.
The roadway expert stated that another example of failures are the access ramps to federal roads that are not properly signposted, do not have an sufficient warning to meet the braking process, which causes serious problems when driving.
He insisted that the Periférico does not meet the rules of safety and protection for drivers.
“A high percentage of drivers exceeds the maximum speed for this road that is 90 kilometers per hour, which when an accident occurs the risk of loss of life is very high,” he said.
Another shortcoming is the lack of horizontal signage or markings on the pavement such as: delimitation of lanes, directional arrows or maximum speed.
However, it has been filled with vertical signs with massive commercial announcements that distract drivers.
And for pedestrians, bridges are insufficient and those that exist are lacking signs.
In the opinion of the professional interviewed, the Periférico requires professional intervention, actions and much more specialized mechanisms to avoid the increasing number of accidents and the loss of human lives.
“The new vehicles in circulation allow that after an impact, a driver and passengers traveling in a car can be unharmed if they meet certain measures: safety belts, application of air bags and do not travel in over capacity. But in this type of road, with trees, uneven undulations, light poles at minimum space of the boundary, these cause unfortunate deaths,” he said.
Source: Punto Medio
Text and photos: Acom