IMAGES: Sergio Betancort
The works of the Arrecife Ring Road continue to advance at a good pace, after the stoppage that this project suffered at the beginning. At the moment they are working "intensely" on the access to Tahíche, on Tenderete street, and on the section closest to Costa Teguise, according to the Councilor for Roads and Works, José Antonio Gutiérrez.
This same Wednesday, the vehicles have already found a changed section, the one that goes from the Ring Road to Tahíche, which will now be done through a roundabout. "The old bridge will be demolished and a new one will be made," says Gutiérrez. This modification on the road has caused retentions this Wednesday on the Ring Road.
The usual access that left the Ring Road towards Tahíche has been closed, but vehicles can join at that point a level roundabout that goes in all directions. "If you go from the airport to the port and want to divert to Arrecife, you take the roundabout and exit towards Arrecife. You can also go straight to the port or continue along the roundabout to go to Tahíche or even turn around and go back to the airport," says Gutiérrez.
At this point, there is already a new bridge made, but the one on the other side of the road is missing, the one closest to the city of Arrecife. "In this case, it is necessary to demolish the old one and make a new one," indicates the councilor.
Another bridge that will also be demolished will be the one on Tenderete street. For this, work will be done during the five months that the cut will last in this section, which began this Monday for vehicles and pedestrians. "Two roads with four lanes will be made at once," Gutiérrez reports.
8 more months of detour through Las Caletas
Where they are also working "intensely" is in the section of the Ring Road closest to Costa Teguise, where a "superior passage roundabout" will be executed. However, this will take about 8 months, so traffic will continue to be diverted through Las Caletas. The councilor explains that in this section there will be "two bridges, which will support an elevated roundabout for those coming from Arrecife to Costa Teguise and for those leaving Costa Teguise". When it is executed, this passage can be opened and vehicles will no longer have to circulate through Las Caletas.
Another section that should be diverted soon will be the one from San Francisco Javier to the LZ-2 link, since a part of the road already has "the wearing course practically in place", but two other lanes are missing. Given all these advances, José Antonio Gutiérrez foresees that the Arrecife Ring Road will be completed in 2014. "We are doing well if we take into account that there was a total stoppage at the beginning," he says.
Anti-vandalism railings and slopes
During the execution of the works, there have been many complaints from the neighbors, mainly due to the dust and dirt that was raised and the noise. In addition, they complained about some slopes that were in the Tahíche area and that they feared would come off, especially in the rainy season.
The Cabildo understands that the neighbors are right and that the slopes "have a risk". "The Government of the Canary Islands says no, but it is willing to give them a treatment to fix the land and that there is no risk of landslides", indicates Gutiérrez.
But, in addition, the neighbors also complained about the security on the Maneje bridge. "They understand that the railings did not have the appropriate security for the number of children who circulate there. For this reason, anti-vandalism railings will be installed to also protect road traffic," explains the councilor.
