Survey: Fifty-nine Percent of Main Highways Are in Fair, Poor or Terrible Condition

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to information from CNT, when considering the general condition of roads, 59 percent of the paved road network shows some unfavorable conditions, ranking as only fair, poor or terrible.

The other 41 percent of the network is classified as in excellent or good condition.

Regarding the pavement, roads show problems in 52.4 percent of the assessed length, while the other 47.6 percent are in satisfactory condition. The pavement is completely destroyed in 0.9 percent.

In terms of road markings, 48.1 percent of the highway mileage is deemed fair, poor or terrible, compared to 51.9 percent excellent or good. Painted center lines are non-existent in 6.6 percent of the extension and painted shoulder lines are non-existent in 11.5 percent.

Regarding highway design, 76.3 percent is fair or worse, while 23.7 percent, either excellent or good. Single lane highways are predominant in 85.8 percent of the roads. There is a lack of adequate road shoulders in 45.5 percent of the sections assessed.

In the stretches with dangerous bends, there are no shoulder or guard rails in 41.7 percent of them.

The survey assessed critical points and found 797 in Brazil, of which 130 were pavement erosion, 26 guardrail openings, 2 collapsed bridges and 639 stretches with large potholes.

The situation shows that pavement conditions generate a 28.5 percent increase in transportation operating costs, which, according to the CNT, “reflects on Brazil’s competitiveness and the price of products”.

The current estimate is that R$38.6 billion (US$9.65 billion) is needed to rehabilitate roads in Brazil, with emergency, maintenance and reconstruction actions, well above the total resources authorized by the federal government for road infrastructure in 2019: R$7.57 billion.

Of this total, R$4.78 billion have been invested up to September (63.2 percent).

The data show that, in addition to the thousands of deaths that are recorded every year on the roads, the damage resulting from highway accidents was R$9.73 billion in 2018.

During the same period, the government spent R$7.48 billion on road transport infrastructure works.

Source: Estadão Conteúdo

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