The Tenerife Cabildo has declared the permanent closure of the Guamasa link with TF-5 during peak hours.
According to the president of the island corporation, Rosa Dávila, this measure improved traffic by 15% during the trial period, with no reported accidents.
“We have to make decisions, sometimes right and sometimes not, and we have seen that this one has the endorsement of the Provincial Traffic Directorate, which confirms that the closure of Guamasa was a success. Therefore, our commitment to improving the queues and the traffic situation was essential,” Dávila said on the Cope network.
She also emphasized that “it is not just about time, it is about health, about life, and something that the Traffic Directorate points out is that during those ten days of tests, there were no accidents, and this is very important, not even on the TF-5 or on the surrounding tracks. Therefore, this gives us the ability to continue making decisions that, in parallel with the train works, lead to greater traffic flow.”
Evaluation Criteria
In a press conference reported by EFE, the president of the Tenerife Cabildo stated on Monday that the permanent closure of the Guamasa link on the TF-5 will be implemented from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. for a period between 6 and 8 months, following the improvement works on other links from the TF-235 and TF-152 roads.
The island corporation is proposing two actions on the TF-152, to enable a siding and thus activate three lanes for those who join from Guamasa on that road, and also provide a new access from the lower area of the highway to the elevated roundabout on the TF-5 at the Tenerife North Airport exit.
The island president mentioned that these complementary measures will not only improve access for the more than 20,000 people who travel along the TF-5 in 18,000 vehicles but also for the 800 vehicles that enter Guamasa at rush hour. The improvement works on the accesses of both roads adjacent to the TF-5 will have an execution cost of 1 million euros.
According to data from the Tenerife Cabildo, this measure will have positive effects on the island’s economy, such as reducing vehicle travel time by 20 percent, saving 46 hours, and eliminating some 828,000 unproductive hours. This, according to Dávila, will mean savings of more than 30 million euros and will reduce the emission of 1,134 tons of CO2.
Controversy in November
The traffic cuts in Guamasa last November led to complaints from residents in the area. They reported taking “45 minutes to travel 3 kilometers”.
The neighbors gathered in front of the doors of the Tenerife Cabildo to demand that the TF-5 link not be closed. The president of the Guamasa neighborhood association and the FAV Aguere, Jonay Luzardo, then expressed the “discontent” of the citizens, not only of Guamasa, which has about 4,000 inhabitants but also of other centers such as Agua García (Tacoronte), El Ortigal, Cruz Chica, or Valle de Guerra.
Additionally, the Deputy of the Common, Rafael Yanes, met with representatives of the Guamasa Neighborhood Association in Tenerife, who presented some 900 signatures from neighbors and groups opposing the closure of access 14 to the TF-5 highway (in the direction of Santa Cruz).
