The Tenerife Cabildo has awarded a €13.8 million contract to resurface almost 19 kilometres of the TF-1 motorway between Santa Cruz and Arafo, in a major project aimed at improving road safety and extending the lifespan of one of the island's busiest roads.

The work will cover 18.6 kilometres of the motorway, between kilometre markers 1.4 and 20, and is expected to take six months to complete. More than 70,000 vehicles use this stretch of the TF-1 every day.

Two contractors appointed

The project has been divided into two sections.

·       The first, covering the stretch between Santa Cruz and El Rosario, has been awarded to Transformaciones y Servicios for €7.5 million.

·       The second section, running through El Rosario, Candelaria and Arafo, will be carried out by Señalizaciones Villar at a cost of €6.35 million.

Together, the contracts are worth €13,855,850, significantly below the project's original budget of more than €16 million.

Safety improvements included

As well as completely resurfacing the carriageway, the project includes a number of additional safety measures.

These include the installation of rumble strips along the road edges, repainting lane markings across the motorway and its junctions, renewing horizontal and vertical road signs, and updating motorway information signage.

New central reservation safety barriers will also be installed, while fresh asphalt will be laid on several slip roads and motorway connections.

The Cabildo has confirmed that the contractors will use asphalt mixtures containing 50% recycled material recovered from existing road surfaces, reducing the environmental impact of the project.

Three-year guarantee for completion

Both contracts include a three-year guarantee on the completed work.

The resurfacing scheme was originally approved in April, with the tender process following in May. Now that the contracts have been awarded, work is expected to begin shortly.

Motorists using the TF-1 should expect traffic management measures and possible delays during the six-month construction period as improvements are carried out on one of Tenerife's busiest transport routes.