Work is progressing on two fundamental infrastructures to alleviate the recurring traffic queues on the Northern highway (TF-5) at the height of The lagoon. On the one hand, the burying of the TF-24, the La Esperanza highway, practically already completed and with the forecast that it will be operational next March. In parallel, the foundation of the walkway over the Padre Anchieta roundabout is being developed, which is expected to be finished in October. The tunnel will divert some 10,000 vehicles from the Northern highway, while the bridge will end with some pedestrian collapses that affect traffic like a domino effect. It will give fluidity to circulation in the equivalent of removing another 15,000 cars. In total, 25,000 less to relieve the pressure of the 140,000 who pass through there every day.
“People are already beginning to see that the promises are a reality despite the technical difficulties in complicated projects.” Enrique Arriaga, Councilor for Mobility and Roads of the Cabildo, assures it during the visit to both works on a rainy day.
Arriaga adds to these first two steps as factors to help relieve congestion on the TF-5 the development of public transport as an alternative to private vehicles and the third lane from Guamasa to La Laguna. He does not forget to mention the roadmap that the Insular Sustainable Mobility Plan represents as a “basic instrument” to define the future planning and management model. A base document until 2040 whose preparation was commissioned in 2021. The counselor acknowledges the delays due to lack of supply of materials. In both cases, the contractors have requested extensions of six months with respect to the established deadlines.
“Unjustified” delay
The winning bidder for the footbridge, OHL, requested this postponement in order to complete the work in October instead of in May as planned. Unlike the tunnel joint venture – Construcciones Sando, Construcciones Darias and Constructora de Proyectos y Obra Civil – the Cabildo will impose sanctions in the form of penalties for “unjustified” delay. This is a figure established by law that consists of deducting from the company a percentage of the initial budget based on accumulated delays. In this work it was 8.8 million euros and will end at 9.5. That of the tunnel, after a change that has meant an increase of 20%, will go from 7.9 to 8.5 million euros.
Arriaga, Tomás García, the island’s director of Highways, and the Project Manager, Laura Riverol, lead the group that covers the 750 meters, 30 of them strictly underground, of the tunnel. It is expected that when it is operational it will allow 10,000 vehicles to be diverted on the way to Santa Cruz or to the south from the TF-5 without passing through La Laguna.
Arriaga assesses: «It is practically finished with the service sidewalks completed, as well as the sides. It would remain to place the embellishing slats and the lighting. Right now we proceed to fill and level and then pave”. The probable thing is that it enters into service and opens to traffic without the luminaires if the arrival of these elements, which are not essential, suffers any delay.
The closing with walls of the part that faces the university or the interior roads of the urbanization of access to the Dominicas school also concludes these days. An agreement was reached with the neighbors to expropriate to expand the margins and in exchange these roads are enabled. The company requested an extension until March 31, but it is very likely that it will open before then.
The path leads from the tunnel to the nearby walkway. Arriaga explains that “there were problems with supplies, especially metal, and an increase in the price of materials such as steel that multiplied by five as a result, among other factors, of the Ukrainian War.” A continuous curved beam will be built in the shape of a ring approximately 100 meters in diameter, supported by a system of point supports. The total length of the ring will be about 314 meters.
The counselor shows the auction of less visible works such as the pipes or the repositioning of pipes and cables, in addition to the retaining walls. The one in the square that overlooks the Faculty of Biology has almost finished, where they have just placed earth in the gardens as a decorative element. The foundation section on Avenida de la Trinidad has also finished.
The pillars of the walkway are under construction on the peninsula and the forecast is that the first modules will arrive in March. A meticulous work will allow to fit the whole structure. You have to first make the pillar on both sides and then place them one by one so that they fit perfectly with the previous one.
Two projects and one goal
Tomás García clarifies: «They are different works, with different awards, although they must be highly coordinated. For this reason, the burial of the TF-24 was removed in the first instance. Everything is to alleviate the traffic on the TF-5 as it passes through La Laguna. The tunnel alone will allow 10,000 vehicles to be diverted out of the 140,000 that pass through the highway at this height (100,000) or converge daily at the funnel of the Padre Anchieta roundabout (40,000).
García appreciates that the footbridge will decongest the surroundings of the Anchieta university campus because “it will avoid the collapse that occurs in the roundabout due to the massive traffic of pedestrians at certain times, especially university students on their way to the faculties of Biology, Mathematics, Physics, etc. ” . A good part of the 20,000 students of the University of La Laguna (ULL). Arriaga also appreciates the preferential bus lane that will facilitate access to the Aguere Interchange.
Councilor and island director also highlight the opening of the TF-263 highway, that of San Miguel de Geneto, just above the burial. A small work guarantees access to the surrounding schools, Las Dominicas, Nuryana and Mayco. The detour through Mayber street has accustomed drivers to exit at Lora and Tamayo because the journey is shorter and makes it possible to go directly to Santa Cruz. Another way is to avoid the collapse of the access to the urban area of La Laguna. That is precisely what it is about.
