The new La Calderina roundabout in the nucleus of Mácher has opened to traffic this Friday.
The president of the First Island Institution, María Dolores Corujo, who attended the opening, thanked the “availability and collaboration” provided by the Government of the Canary Islands, presided over by Ángel Víctor Torres, to “remedy the deficit that Lanzarote has in terms of road infrastructure.”
Corujo highlighted that the new La Calderina roundabout “will significantly increase safety on that section of road as it will prevent irregular maneuvers that put other users or pedestrians at risk. Furthermore,” she continued, “it will generate significant time savings for residents, making it easier for them to change direction and, therefore, access their homes on either side of the road.”
José Juan Cruz expressed himself in the same vein, reiterating his “personal gratitude” to the Government of the Canary Islands for responding “with facts and not empty promises to this historical demand of the residents of the town of Mácher.” In this sense, the mayor of Tías recalled that this new infrastructure “puts an end to 14 years of neighborhood demands.”
For his part, the Minister of Public Works, Transport and Housing of the Government of the Canary Islands, Sebastián Franquis, adds that “the new roundabout facilitates access and connection maneuvers with both sides of the road in this part of the LZ-2, the Mácher crossing, safely to avoid accidents that often occur on the road due to unauthorized U-turns. This section of the LZ-2 supports a large volume of traffic, as evidenced by studies by the Cabildo of Lanzarote, which place the Average Daily Intensity (ADI) at 16,685 vehicles per day, although it is considered that this intensity could exceed 18,000 vehicles per day in the future.”
The work
The La Calderina roundabout is 45 meters in diameter and will facilitate the passage of the 16,685 vehicles that cross the nucleus of Mácher each day, according to studies by the First Island Institution. It has two lanes of 4.50 meters wide each, an inner shoulder of 1 meter and an outer shoulder of 1.50 meters. It has four connections and interior landscaping. During the works, in addition, the improvement of the public lighting of the road as well as new conduits for low voltage and telephone have been executed.
Tender
The work had a tender amount of 1,092,100.59 euros charged to the Plan of Actions and Security Improvements on Roads of Lanzarote of the Government of the Canary Islands. It has been executed by a UTE formed by the Lanzarote companies Construcciones Tiagua and Horinsa.
With the new roundabout that has been executed in the crossing of the LZ-2 that crosses Mácher (Tías), safety is gained and traffic that wants to access the streets of the urban network is streamlined.
As it passes through the neighborhood of Mácher, the LZ-2 is configured as an urban crossing, having residential plots and buildings on both banks and in some cases right on the edge. This crossing has a length of 2,200 meters between the roundabout of the Yaiza institute and the roundabout at the entrance to Mácher. The existence of accesses and connections on both banks means that some users make left-turning maneuvers that, given the high traffic intensity and despite being prohibited, have caused several accidents on this crossing.
