Drivers who use the Tres de Mayo tunnel to exit the center of Santa Cruz de Tenerife can no longer merge onto the Southern Highway link (TF-1) or the adjacent one leading to the Somosierra neighborhood.. Instead, they can only continue on the Northern Highway (TF-5) towards La Laguna. This change is a result of the modification introduced by Tenerife Council to mitigate a high-risk area at one of the city exits on the TF-5.
The alteration, implemented last Monday night following the recommendation of insular Highways technicians, involved replacing a broken line with a continuous one. However, the insular Corporation only announced this change on Thursday afternoon, three days later. In a statement released to the media, the Cabildo stated that this measure aims to “enhance safety at the exit of the Juan Amigó de Lara tunnel on Tres de Mayo Avenueat the junction of Rambla de Santa Cruz with TF-1 and TF-5.
Previously, drivers leaving the tunnel towards La Laguna had to navigate up to four lanes to access the Southern Highway or up to five lanes to enter the Somosierra neighborhood, due to discontinuous lines. However, this maneuver posed a significant risk of collision with vehicles coming from the same highway but from the municipal swimming pool bridge confluence.
Under the new continuous line, merging onto the Southern Highway link or the Somosierra neighborhood is prohibited through any of the three lanes of the tunnel. It can only be done using the right lane at the exit of the Acidalio Lorenzo swimming pool bridge or taking another alternative: the Vía Litoral, which directly connects the maritime avenue of Santa Cruz de Tenerife with the Southern Highway.
The insular Minister of Highways, Dámaso Arteaga, assured on Thursday that Cabildo technicians are monitoring the measure and seeking cooperation from drivers. He explained, “It is crucial to adhere to traffic regulations, which prohibit crossing a continuous line.” He added, “This modification was made out of responsibility, as there was a significant risk of collisions between vehicles leaving the Tres de Mayo tunnel and those coming from the swimming pool bridge when the former wanted to merge onto the Southern or Somosierra highway by turning right, while the latter turned left to continue on the Northern Highway towards La Laguna.
«There used to be braking or even some accidents.. The technicians advised implementation of measures, and that is exactly what we have done. We urge drivers to be cautious and respect the signage, as this is a recent change that we all will need to get accustomed to,” emphasized Dámaso Arteaga. This newspaper observed on Thursday that many vehicles disregarded the new continuous line and continued with the previously prohibited maneuver, i.e., crossing several lanes to access the Southern Highway or the Somosierra neighborhood.
