Análisis de la funcionalidad del tráfico en carreteras convencionales en función de la distribución y características de sus zonas de adelantamiento

[EN] Two-lane highways must be safe for the motorists, but they also need to provide operational efficiency. The Spanish geometric design standards indicate that the desirable proportion of passing zones is 40% of the total length for each travel direction; and passing zones should be evenly distributed. The standards indirectly expect to accommodate the design hourly volume. The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM 2010) methodology is used in Spain to evaluate traffic operation and quality of service. Three performance measures are used in two-lane highways: average travel speed; percent time spent following; and, percent free flow. The effect of passing is considered through adjustment factors to average speed and percent time spent following. They depend on the percentage of no passing zones and were obtained through simulations in TWOPAS, which was calibrated with field data from the 70's. The PhD thesis develops and analyzes in detail two-lane highways performance measures and the effect of passing zones. To do so, current passing behavior was documented. The analysis included performance measures at one section of the highway and effectiveness of passing zones. Then, TWOPAS was calibrated and validated using genetic algorithms. The model was applied to an ideal two-lane highway varying directional traffic flow, directional split, percentage of no passing zones and average passing zone length. More than 300000 scenarios were evaluated. The analysis allowed to develop technical criteria to adequately include passing zones in two-lane highways considering their operational impacts. Moreover, the HCM 2010 methodology was adapted to Spanish driver behavior. [ES] Las vías deben ser seguras para todos sus usuarios, pero también deben satisfacer la demanda de tráfico con un nivel de servicio aceptable. En la normativa española de diseño geométrico se indica que en las carreteras convencionales el porcentaje de zonas de adelantamiento deseable es del 40% por cada sentido de circulación y debe estar lo más uniformemente repartido posible, para asegurar su adecuada funcionalidad, y se propone la metodología del Manual de Capacidad americano (HCM 2010) para su estimación. El HCM 2010 basa la calidad del tráfico en tres medidas de desempeño: la velocidad media, el porcentaje de tiempo en cola y el porcentaje de velocidad libre. En ellas, el efecto de las zonas de adelantamiento se traduce en unos coeficientes de ajuste en función del porcentaje de zona de adelantamiento