The canarian government culminates the commissioning of the three projects to build the third lane of the TF-1. It put out to tender for 506,460 euros the drafting of the San Isidro-Oroteanda section, the third and last in the plan after those of Güímar-San Isidro and Oroteanda-Las Américas. The Ministry of Public Works has thus activated three key projects for the improvement of the Autopista del Sur in one year: this third lane, the burying to create a pedestrian avenue between Las Américas and Fañabé and the closure of the Insular Ring through Santiago del Teide from the municipality of Guía de Isora.
The Council that directs Sebastian Franquis launches this contest for the drafting of the construction project of the San Isidro-Oroteanda section. With this new tender, the drafting of all the projects that seek to expand the capacity of the TF-1 “to improve safety and circulation from Las Américas to Güimar” is already being contracted. There will be a total of 55 new kilometers of third rail for the road.
The section that goes out to tender contemplates the works in about 10 kilometers. It begins at point 53,450, before the new San Isidro junction (Granadilla) and ends after Oroteanda (San Miguel). It consists of providing the infrastructure with a third lane in each direction and also in the remodeling of existing links by expanding the platform and adapting to current planning and regulations.
intervention needed
The need for this intervention is justified by a generalized problem of saturation on the TF-1 due to the high traffic that runs through it, mainly the congestion on the connections to the most important towns. Thus, there are frequent traffic jams in San Isidro and Las Chafiras. The malfunction of the links causes retentions that extend to the trunk of the motorway.
The regional councilor Sebastián Franquis already made it clear in a recent parliamentary appearance that it is essential to expand the motorway by incorporating a third lane. To do this, he assured then, from the Ministry has given an important boost in recent months for the hiring of the necessary services for this purpose.
This is demonstrated by the fact that the announcements of the contracts for the drafting of the layout and construction project for the Güimar-San Isidro section (with an investment of 1,955,632 euros) and the Oroteanda-Las Américas section (549,114 euros) are already on the Public Contracts Platform. , to which is now added that of San Isidro-Oroteanda (506,460 euros). These three are joined by another smaller one, which does not include the third lane, but will be a great relief for circulation in the area, such as the burying of the TF-1 between Las Américas and Fañabé (Adeje) with a planned investment of 117 millions of euros.
«Investing in Tenerife is not by chance, but prioritizing an Island with a huge deficit»
In addition, within the San Isidro-Las Américas section, works are currently being carried out on the Oroteanda Link-Las Chafiras Link. which also contemplate the creation of a sufficiently wide carriageway to accommodate a third lane in the future.
With all these actions, some in execution and others in tender, the TF-1 would be equipped with a third lane practically in its entirety between Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Américas.
Sebastián Franquis valued in the Parliament of the Canary Islands: «We have budgeted more investment resources for Tenerife and it is not done by chance but because we prioritize an Island with a huge and historical deficit in this matter». This is the meaning of the forecast to invest more than 77 million euros in works and projects to be developed in Tenerife throughout the year 2022.
‘Green Rambla’ in Adeje
Last May, another investment of 117 million euros was announced to bury the South highway and create a green boulevard in Adeje. The project was advertised with a phrase: “It will help reduce queues.” The TF-1 will be buried in a false tunnel and the upper road will have a bike lane, pedestrian walkways, gardens and other green areas. In addition, it will change the appearance of one of the points with the most tourist weight on the Island: Playa de Las Américas, in the part corresponding to the municipality of Adeje. The investment has a schedule that covers up to 2025 for the bidding for the drafting of the project and the execution of the works on the TF-1. The works will modify this section of the highway, since about three kilometers of the road will be buried with a cut-and-cover tunnel between Las Américas and Miraverde. This new boulevard will allow traffic to be diverted through four junctions towards Las Américas, Torviscas and Fañabé. The cut-and-cover tunnel will start next to Siam Park and will end shortly before the X-Sur Shopping Center. The contract for the execution of the works will have a term of 40 months once awarded.
Closure of the Insular Ring
Another key work to improve the TF-1 is the section that closes the Insular Ring to the South and that runs between the municipalities of Guía de Isora and Santiago del Teide for 14.5 kilometres. The Ministry of Public Works put out to tender the drafting of the project for the two remaining lanes of the section that runs through Guía de Isora (Las Manchas) and Santiago del Teide (Erques) towards Adeje (TF-1).
A pending work in its day due to lack of economic resources that this year the Ministry of Public Works contributes. To improve the Autopista del Sur, on the one hand, and also to pay off the recognized historical debt with the Island of Tenerife and its roads.
Some facts about the TF-1
50,000 vehicles daily
The Autopista del Sur is saturated its 103 kilometers in length. The road, whose initial construction dates from the seventies of the last century, supports an average of 50,000 vehicles per day, many of them heavy. With two rush hours: from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., heading south, and from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. heading north, according to data from the Ministry.
Ofra-El Chorrilo axis
Public Works awarded in February for 348,459 euros the drafting of the project for the new link between the TF-1 and the TF-2, as well as the completion of the Ofra-El Chorrillo highway, in the municipality of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The pending issue for more than a decade is the structure of an unfinished bridge over the TF-5 but key in the connection with the TF-1.
Guagua and paved lane
The Cabildo will improve traffic on the TF-1 with a 20-kilometre bus lane between Polígono de Güímar and Santa Cruz. And the surface resurfacing plan has been carried out since April 2021. Sacyr’s works will include nearly 40 kilometers of the road between Adeje and Arico.
