Resumo

GRADILLA HERNANDEZ, Luz  e  GONZALEZ GOMEZ, Ovidio. Identification of critical segments by vulnerability for freight transport on the paved road network of Mexico. Invest. Geog [online]. 2011, n.74, pp.48-57. ISSN 2448-7279.

The potential for disruption of the Mexican road network increases in importance as the economic dependence on road transport increases. Therefore, this article presents an analysis to identify critical segments of the road network in terms of freight transport. The emphasis is on methodology, but the results of applying the method are also shown, by analysing the effect on total travel time within the network, including the effects of route changes in response to segment capacities. The method uses the criterion 'effect on travel time', AT_a, of Scott et al., but an original model is presented. Calculation of the effects includes an interface developed in TransCAD^®. Application of the method to the main road network in Mexico has identified critical segments where the network is vulnerable and it has been demonstrated that is feasible to apply the methodology with the information available in Mexico.

Palavras-chave : Critical segments; vulnerability; Mexican roads.