Assessment of traffic conditions and environmental impact of an unpaved road located in southwest Minas Gerais, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Rocha, Letícia Bueno de Oliveira
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Magri, Rômulo Amaral Faustino, Pereira, Tereza Cristina de Faria Kraüss
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Research, Society and Development
• Texto Completo: https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/13236
• topic: Rain drainage system; Rural road; Silting up of water courses; Conservation of rural roads.; Sistema de drenagem pluvial; Estradas rurais; Assoreamento de cursos hídricos; Conservação de estradas rurais.; Sistema de drenaje lluvia; Camino rural; Sedimentación de cursos de agua; Conservación de caminos rurales.

Much of Brazil's road network is structured by unpaved roads. Roads are elements of the landscape of paramount importance for the economy of cities and the society that surround them. The unpaved highway under study is approximately 25 km long and is a link between the city of São João Batista do Glória / MG and the district of Ponte Alta, municipality of Delfinópolis / MG. The present study aimed to analyze the characteristics of the physical environment, identify the environmental impacts and trafficability problems and present alternatives for road conservation and maintenance. For this study, primary and secondary data of physical characteristics were collected through the use of photointerpretation, vectorization and geoprocessing techniques. On-site visits were carried out with a view to the traffic conditions including the identification of possible environmental impacts. The rain drainage systems involving the transverse bulging with lateral channels and containment basins (barraginhas), in addition to helping in the conservation of the road, accumulate rainwater and soil particles, promoting the mitigation of silting of water courses. The results of this research are important to assist the administrative management of the municipalities of São João Batista do Glória-MG and Delfinópolis-MG in the adoption of conservationist practices applicable to the maintenance and conservation of unpaved roads, with a view to improving the maintenance techniques related to trafficability and environmental management.