A major ‘breakthrough’ was made yesterday (Monday) in the construction of the new tunnel in Tenerife, which when completed will be the longest in the Canary Islands, linking Santiago del Teide with El Teno, when construction workers met in the middle and linked the two drill holes of Tunnel 1 for the first time.
The Erjos tunnel is a crucial part of the islands ring road, that will help put an end to the traffic jams in Tenerife, and yesterday the final two metres were excavated and daylight could be seen between the two, marking the completion of 4,855 metres of drilling.
Tunnel 2, which runs parallel alongside, has reached 97% completion with about 300 metres of drilling to go before it is broken through in August. Four lengths of drilling have been carried out at the same time, two from the north and two from the south, operating 24 hours a day in three eight-hour shifts, seven days a week.
Robotic excavators have been used, and drilling techniques have involved both blasting and mechanical methods, depending on the condition of the terrain, which has allowed them to advance by drilling an average of 15 metres a day.
The breakthrough of the first tunnel yesterday, confirmed the predictions made by the Director General of Roads, José Luis Delgado, last October when they were 60% complete. Delgado had forecast that both tunnels would be connected during the summer.
He is now predicting that it will be 15 months until vehicles will be able to go through the tunnels which will significantly alleviate traffic congestion on the TF-5 motorway and enhance economic connectivity between the north and south of the island, with 17,000 using the tunnel every day.
Technical studies indicate that within ten years, the traffic volume is expected to exceed 30,000 vehicles. Delgado emphasized that this marks “the beginning of the end of traffic congestion,” and believes that this major infrastructure project will transform island mobility.
Motorists traveling between El Tanque and Santiago del Teide will save over 20 minutes compared to the current winding mountain road, with the new section of the dual carriageway, once completed and connected to the rest of the TF-5, spanning 11.3 kilometres, nearly half of which will be underground.
