Santa Cruz de Tenerife (EFE).- The acting president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, attended this Monday the drilling of the first of the two Erjos tunnels within the construction works of the highway between Santiago del Teide and El Tanque which is part of the western closure project of the Tenerife Island Ring.
The new stretch of highway, which when finished will join the rest of the TF-5, is 11.3 kilometers long and includes the Erjos double tunnel, the longest in the Canary Islands with a total length of 5.1 kilometres. This construction makes it possible to save the Teno massif, reports the Government.
In addition to the regional president and the president of the Tenerife Council, Pedro Martín, Emilio José Navarro, mayor of Santiago del Teide; José Luis Delgado, General Director of Road Infrastructure of the Government of the Canary Islands; Esther Morales Sánchez, mayoress of El Tanque; Carmen Luz Baso, mayor of Los Silos, and Eva García, mayor of Buenavista.
This road work, the most important in terms of investment of all those that the Government of the Canary Islands has underway, was awarded in 2019 for 241 million euros, although the price updates applied to the works have led to an increase in the initial budget. up to 256 million euros.
Of this global budget, 18 million euros are dedicated to environmental actions in the area around the work.
In statements to the media, Torres highlighted the relevance of today’s act “because the two excavations of the Erjos tunnel are joined, which will be the longest in the Canary Islands and will allow the reduction of time by more than half an hour through this island ring ”.
In his opinion, it represents the culmination of “a job well done in these 4 years, in which, of the 16 projects of the highway agreement for Tenerife, a total of 13 (80%) are already in the bidding phase, in works and with the environmental impact statements”.
For Torres, the best proof of this commitment is that, “in the Erjos tunnel, work has been carried out seven days a week and 24 hours a day” and in addition to recognizing the workers of this project, he has stated that The improvement of the infrastructures has been a priority of his Government “and I hope that it will be the new one, so that, in 15 months, this work can be delivered to the people of Tenerife”.
In this sense, he stressed that the most modern measures have been used for a complex excavation that has not suffered delays in this mandate.
The president also recalled that the highway agreement has gone from 1,300 to 1,600 million euros, that it must be executed until 2027 and that a new agreement is needed, after the great boost given to road infrastructure in the last four years.
The president of the Tenerife Cabildo, Pedro Martín, pointed out that, “during this mandate, the Administration of the island has focused all its efforts, together with the Government of the Canary Islands, on advancing road projects and also on the execution of works” .
For the acting island president, this project represents a great milestone for Tenerife, as it allows connecting the north with the south through the Erjos tunnel.
“With the opening of the tunnel we achieved unquestionable progress. Within a year or so, the works will be completed and this work, probably one of the most necessary for the Island, will become a reality,” he said.
The mayor of Santiago del Teide, Emilio Navarro, spoke on behalf of the municipalities and assured that this is an important day for the region of Daute-Isla Baja and Isora, “which will experience a before and after since this can be inaugurated infrastructure, the most important that is executed in Spain not only for the economic part, but social, health and family reconciliation for those who use this route”.
Likewise, he highlighted the competitiveness that companies will gain due to the improvement in mobility on the island and the resolution of problems for the tourism sector, both on the TF-5 and on the TF-1, as it is expected that only through Santiago del Teide it goes from about 8,000 vehicles per day to about 30,000, about 22,000 less in the Tf-5”.
The President of the Canary Islands, together with the rest of the authorities, technicians, operators and the media, attended the moment in which the heavy machinery mechanically drilled the last two meters of wall that separated the gallery drilled from the north with the one that is drilled from the south, joining both sections that add up to an excavated length of 4,855 meters, for a total length of 5.1 kilometers.
The second tunnel, parallel to this one, is also advancing satisfactorily, already reaching 4,555 meters excavated, that is, 97% of the tunnel, so there would be only 300 meters left that can be completed with the depth of this second tunnel next month of August.
Two cut-and-cover tunnels must now be added to both tunnels (140 meters in the south mouth and 100 meters in the north mouth) to add up to the 5.1 kilometers per mouth provided in the project.
To expedite the excavation of both tunnels, drilling has been carried out simultaneously in the four mouths without interruption and in a triple work shift until completion.
The drilling is carried out mainly by blasting and, if the terrain makes it necessary, by mechanical means, which allows progress to be made at an average of 15 meters per day, explains the Government. EFE
June 26, 2023
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The drilling of one of the Erjos tunnels that will link Santiago del Teide with El Tanque has finished
by EFE
Santa Cruz de Tenerife (EFE).- The acting president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, attended this Monday the drilling of the first of the two Erjos tunnels within the construction works of the highway between Santiago del Teide and El Tanque which is part of the western closure project of the Tenerife Island Ring.The... Read More