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Volume 19, No. 33Journal 33

DOI:https://doi.org/10.15517/2rfn9975

Published November 12, 2025

Scientific Papers

  1. Sandra Elodia Ospina Lozano, Camilo Andrés Nieves Castro, Adriana María López Velandia (Author)

    Comparative analysis of cement modified soil mixes with non-biodegradable materials. Portland cement association methodology

    This article presents the comparative analysis of research carried out at the La Salle University - Colombia since the year 2012, regarding modified cement mixtures designed with the Portland Cement Association (PCA) methodology (ACI, 1997) and guided by the Article 350 of the National Institute of Roads [Invías] of the year 2013, which refers to the characteristics that must be met by an improved granular mixture with cement for quality control on site, of national application in Colombia. Initially, information is collected and organized to identify comparative criteria for the results obtained from cement-based mixtures modified with non-biodegradable materials such as tempered glass, expanded polystyrene [EPS], polyethylene terephthalate [PET], high density polyethylene [PEHD] and rubber grain. The results obtained from this comparative analysis were then evaluated, whose variations in the optimal cement contents differ from the suggested ranges of the PCA, which leads to a discussion on the application of this methodology for modified cement mixtures, proposing new ranges Of control parameters for future research, which will serve as a starting point for proposing a new design methodology in cement soil mixtures using such materials. However, the analysis presented here evidences the need to enrich the recommendations that are presented with a greater number of data, to give validity supported in sufficient statistical processing.

  2. Yefer Asprilla Lara, Fernando García De Quevedo, Mario González Pérez (Author)

    Road signage and road safety in bus rapid transit corridors: transmilenio in Bogotá

    The increase in traffic accidents in most countries of the world has triggered the alarms in urban and interurban mobility safety. Accidents occur both in public transport systems, such as private vehicles or mass transit systems. In this paper, the influence of road signage on users' road safety of the Transmilenio system in the main arterial of the Caracas Avenue in Bogotá, Colombia is studied through descriptive analysis and on-site inspection. The results show that it is urgent that national and municipal governments implement mitigation policies and measures aiming at decreasing socio-economic and psychological effects generated by motorized traffic

  3. Fabricio Leiva Villacorta, Adriana Vargas-Nordcbeck (Author)

    Mejores prácticas para diseñar mezclas asfálticas con pavimento asfáltico recuperado (RAP)

    Utilization of RAP in asphalt pavements has become an important strategy to help offset rising raw material prices and to improve the sustainability of our transportation infrastructure. Characteristics of the recycled materials, mix designs, performance and construction practices do not follow any known standard practice. The objective of the proposed document is to identify best practices for specification, design, production, testing, and placement of RAP mixes. The proposed document provides guidance for the effective use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) materials in pavements specifically for Costa Rica. The document includes recommendations on when milling should be considered as part of pavement rehabilitation, best practices for handling and stockpiling RAP, testing the RAP, designing mixes with RAP, production of mixes containing RAP, and quality control practices during production of mixtures containing RAP.

  4. Leonardo Castro Rodríguez, Gabriela Picado Aguilar, Stephan Rodríguez Shum (Author)

    Modelación de demanda de transporte urbano en Costa Rica, de Emme a TransCAD

    The Modelo de Demanda de Transporte Urbano de la Gran Área Metropolitana en Plataforma TransCAD (MDT-UCR) project began in 2016, conceived as a research project of the University of Costa Rica, based on a partnership between the Civil Engineering School (EIC) and the National Laboratory of Testing Materials and Structural Models (LanammeUCR). The present article describes the database migration of the urban transportation demand model, from Emme2 to TransCAD, generated as a result of the Regional Urban Plan for the Great Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica (PRUGAM). The databases include the roads and transit networks, the transit system’s operational characteristics and the socioeconomic variables used for transportation demand modeling. Each step of the demand model migration process is described. This article covers the methodology used for exporting data generated in Emme2 to TransCAD and the considerations used for validating both the databases’ migration process and the results obtained from the migrated urban transportation demand model in TransCAD. The main conclusion drawn from the migration process is that, even though some changes in the structure of the data had to be made, the urban transportation demand model was successfully migrated from Emme2 to TransCAD, without changes to its contents. The analytical methods included in TransCAD are similar to those used in Emme2, so the results obtained by the model were successfully replicated.

Opinion Papers

  1. Bohián Pérez Stéfanov (Author)

    Use of bicycle in Costa Rica: historical review and characterization of the type of cyclists and their mobility on the national road system

    There is very few research on the use of bicycles in Costa Rica. Over the last years, the use of bicycles has been positioned throughout studies of mobility, transportation and road safety as an important mobility alternative and a possible solution to road traffic congestion in the cities. However, localities where the bicycle has not only been a historically consolidated means of transportation, but also an integral part of the social and economic structures of the communities and their cultural dynamics, they have been ignored and not been acknowledged.
    With the construction and improvement of the National Road Network, and the implementation of public policies that do not consider the importance of the use of the bicycle within social spaces of high complexity, a direct and negative impact on the mobility patterns of these populations has been generated, increasing the risk of traffic accidents.
    Two categories are proposed to understand the use of the bicycle: utilitarian cyclists, a heterogeneous group whose common element is the daily use of the bicycle from the symbolic space of their communities and historical realities, many of them on a rural context; and recreational cyclists, more homogenous and with more specific characteristics, common to urban spaces and with a bicycle use more oriented to nonprofessional sport and recreation