In the six months prior to the January 2015 assessment trip, Compone’s health clinic conducted a traffic report and recorded eight accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians within the town’s jurisdiction. These occurrences ranged in severity from heavy bruising to death. It was also noted that accidents had a wide age range with those injured being anywhere from 9 to 65 years old. This illustrated that road conditions were significant factors to the high rate of accidents and it was not a lack of road safety education in children as was originally assumed. The clinic did not have records of accidents before the six-month period. However, signs of incidents were evident from the appearance of graves lining the highway.
The traffic report provided did not include accidents involving livestock, which if injured, maimed, or killed can have a significant effect on a farmer and his family. However, it was noted by several community members that cattle are occasionally involved in accidents as well when being herded to and from the fields in the early morning and late afternoon, respectively. Cattle are especially valuable assets for families as many villagers are invested in dairy farming.
Most of the reported incidents occurred along the national 3S Highway (locally known as the Izcuchaca-Abancay highway) that goes through the middle of Compone. The traffic through the town regularly exceeds the speed limit of 35 kph. Heavy traffic, such as large semi-trucks and buses, also pass through town. Cars and trucks alike pass each other on the two-lane road with little regard to oncoming traffic or nearby pedestrians and cattle. Poor visibility due to dim lighting, especially at the dawn and dusk hours, also led to accidents. Since no sidewalk exists, the villagers use the narrow shoulder as a walkway alongside the highway. Farmers use the shoulder to walk their cattle to pasture while school children use it on their way to school or visit a friend’s house.
EWB Response
Community leaders and respected community members alike expressed a concern for their community’s safety and the current situation of the 3S highway. EWB-UMD initially approached the problem by suggesting speed-reducing features such as speed bumps. This was eliminated as a possibility since Peru’s federal highway administration controls the highway. The federal body proved to be difficult to reach to approve the project and a temporary road closure would be extremely difficult to coordinate. The team then suggested lighting improvement to increase visibility during dawn and dusk. However, it became apparent that accidents were also occurring during the day and the community was capable of installing lighting themselves if need be.
A venerated community member suggested the construction of a bridge over a stream that forced people to use the highway shoulder. The stream and highway intersection is near the center of town and clearly had significant daily foot traffic. Villagers often used the highway crossing to cross the stream to avoid going down its steep banks. However, the stream fills annually during the rainy season (roughly November to April) and leaves foot traffic with no option but to use the highway crossing.
EWB-UMD proceeded to collect data on the stream dimensions while plans were also discussed to make the bridge the centerpiece of a new low-speed residential road. This addition would shift pedestrian, livestock, and residential traffic away from the roadway. The 5-meter-wide and 1.2-meter-deep streambed proved crossable and the banks had workable soil properties to bear the load of such a bridge. The team approached carpenters, masons, and other skilled laborers who pledged to help with the future construction of a bridge. In addition, local structural experts gave cost estimates for materials and labor. Upon departure, the team and the community’s leadership reached an agreement to construct a pedestrian bridge as the next phase of EWB-UMD’s partnership with Compone.
Moving Forward
The team returned and completed the design alternatives analysis by the Spring of 2016 and then spent the Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 semesters completing the final design. The University of Maryland, College Park chapter of Public Health Without Borders and an engineer from EWB San Diego Professional Chapter, who traveled to the community in January 2017 and March 2017, respectively, helped to communicate with the community, monitor previous projects, and conduct laboratory soil testing.
In August 2017, the team traveled to the community and completed the implementation of both bridge abutments and foundations. Due to the difficulty of construction during the rainy season, the team did not return to Compone until August of 2018. In August 2018, a team of six students, one UMD faculty mentor, and one non-UMD mentor completed the construction of the slab and, ultimately, the project.
After completing implementation, the team will now monitor the project for a minimum of one year to ensure it functions as intended and does not require maintenance. One monitoring trip will be made in 2019 which will entail looking for exposed rebar, inspecting for cracks in the cement, making sure the foundation is intact and not sinking, and looking for any other possible signs of failure. The program will then end by 2020, effectively culminating EWB-UMD’s long and successful partnership with Compone.