The Department of Public Works of the Government of the Canary Islands has initiated the contracting process for the completion of sections B and C of the Northern Motorway (TF-5), which will affect the segments between Tres de Mayo Avenue-Guajara and the second phase (Ofra -El Chorrillo), with a base tender budget of €6.571 million.
This project aims to create a road connection that will link part of the capital with the TF-2 junction and the Southern motorway. It has been on hold for nearly 30 years due to a series of issues, primarily financial, which hindered the progress of work that commenced in 1997. After numerous attempts to award the drafting of a new contract, this initiative has only resulted in the structure of the incomplete bridge over the TF-5, located near the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria Hospital.
The Ofra-El Chorrillo road begins in the Ofra neighbourhood, at the roundabout where Príncipes de España Avenue intersects with the Rosario highway, and terminates in El Draguillo, right at the junction with the TF-2 highway.
Councillor Pablo Rodríguez emphasised yesterday that, “from the commencement of this legislative term, the Directorate General for Road Infrastructure has been dedicated to unblocking initiatives that had been stalled for the past four years. In this context, we aimed to advance this section of the TF-5, which is of immense significance for the island’s connectivity, as this case has proven particularly complex, causing work to be suspended for seven years.”
Meanwhile, the mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdez, applauded the fact that, “at last,” this road “is progressing with administrative efforts that will enable us to witness advancements in the segment that stretches from El Chorrillo to the El Rosarito neighbourhood, where it has been halted. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that the construction will commence as soon as possible, ideally before the conclusion of this term.”
This contract encompasses the completion of section B, which stretches from the Moraditas roundabout to the junction allowing access to San Matías and El Abandono street (San Matías roundabout), as well as section C, which includes the San Matías roundabout and the connection with the TF-2 highway.
The project is part of the 2018-2027 Highway Agreement, and its implementation is more straightforward than section A due to the fact that the main structure, the bridge over the Muerto ravine, has already been constructed.