ANALYSIS OF ROAD INTERVENTION BASED ON GEOGRAPHICAL ACCESSIBILITY AS A DEVELOPMENT TOOL IN REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS

Abstract

Regional transport connectivity plays an important role in economic and productive development; hence, a good transport infrastructure fosters profit-making competitiveness, and it improves the quality of life of the population. In this research, the objective is to analyze the impact on road transport costs and the number of possible trips from road infrastructure interventions to improve the connectivity and competitiveness of the municipality of Tumaco (Colombia) in the region. The study methodology is based on the concept of geographical accessibility, supported by using GIS-type applications, which allows evaluating the access conditions of the study area, based on the characteristics offered by the road network. From the analysis, our results show that it is possible to achieve a reduction in the costs per ton of up to 7.53% and an up to 10.23% increase in the number of possible trips. The main conclusion is that geographical accessibility models give a much broader vision on the impact generated by road interventions. Therefore, they could be included in the constructive evaluation of development projects.

Keywords

• road infrastructure
• transport
• accessibility
• regional studies
• connectivity