LANAMME Invests US$5 Million To Design A Road Building Manual

The Laboratorio Nacional de Materiales (LANAMME) - National Laboratory for Materials - says it will spend some US$5 million dollars to design a manual that will be a guide to the building of better roads in Costa Rica.



The LANAMME says it has purchased a Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HSV), a mobile machine used to subject roads to accelerated trafficking. It can simulate 20 years of road deterioration in as little as three months, thus helping engineers to understand the mechanisms of road failure caused by traffic and, to some extent, by environmental factors.

The machine is expected to arrive in Costa Rica in the coming months.

The LANAMME says the technology will allow to obtain knowledge for design procedures for conditions of our country, particularly in terms of humidity, temperature, materials, construction processes and overall performance.

With this tool, Costa Rica will become the first country in Latin America to have the sophisticated technology, which will allow LANAMME-UCR investigations for the benefit of the country.

Countries using this technology have significantly improved their road infrastructure. So far this type of equipment is used principally in the US, Australia, China and South Africa.

The HVS measures 23 metres long, 3.06 metres wide and 3.28 metres high. Despite its large size, it can travel anywhere in the country.

Every year Costa Rica spends large amounts in road maintenance due in large part because they (the roads) are not designed according to the needs and actual conditions in the country.

However, this technology will allow the country to develop a strategy for road building and maintenance that will save millions of dollars in the long term.

According to José Pablo Aguilar Moya and Édgar Camacho, engineers at the LANAMME, the project is funded entirely with proceeds of the 1% tax on fuels as stipulated in Ley 8114.

The cost of the HSV is US$2.5 million. Another uS$1.7 million is for the building to house the Laboratorio de Pavimentos (PaveLab) which will be located in the Ciudad de la Investigación (Contiguo LanammeUCR)

The building has special features, is more reinforced than a regular building, including electrical and architectural modifications to support the equipment and testing. It is in the final construction phase and will be ready later this year.

The complex also includes space to house other equipment, rooms, cubicles and meeting rooms.