TF1 extension saga

[aspasia]

The completion of the Adeje to Santiago del Teide extension of the TF1 is in doubt after national Government cuts of 64% for road projects in Tenerife. Works on several other roads are also up in the air, the Canarian Government minister for public works, Domingo Berriel, has announced.

Apart from road users, of course, among the most affected will be the actual contractors who were allocated the projects, and who the Government now fears will seek compensation for the loss of some 130 million Euros in 2012 alone - the projects were due to run to 2017.

Apart from the TF1 extension, other road works affected by the cuts include the third carriageway between Güímar and Santa Cruz, the TF1 extension between Santiago del Teide and Icod and then on to El Tanque. North Tenerife is also affected in respect of the Via Litoral in Santa Cruz, and works on the TF5 between Ofra and El Chorrillo, and Padre Anchieta to Los Rodeos.

Sr Berriel said that the regional Government was studying the possibility of an appeal to the Supreme Court or even the Constitutional Court to contest the decision for breach of agreement. JA

[Janet]

Works on the TF1 extension between Adeje and Santiago del Teide have been practically paralysed since September for the lack of a signature. So says Tenerife Cabildo consejero de Carreteras José Luis Delgado, who stressed that the stretch is almost finished, but that the installation of its two bridges is stuck for the want of authorization to begin which just needs the Canarian Government's consejero de Obras Públicas, Domingo Berriel, to put pen to paper.

Delgado said that the papers in question had been on Berriel's desk since September, and if money was what was really behind the delay, the works so far had cost over €150 million and would only require a further €20 million to complete. Money does seem to be the issue, indeed, since the Canarian Government's budget for this year's allocates only €100.000 for the ring road, an allocation that Delgado classed as "insufficient", and an amount that might not even cover security, let alone works. JA

[Janet]

In January, works were "just waiting for a signature", but now, in bad news for our infrastructure and our employment statistics, the TF1 extension and connection between Adeje and Santiago del Teide is officially paralysed. All that will be done for the foreseeable future is the placement of a bridge underneath the village of Tejina. Apart from this, the nine subcontractors of UTE Adeje-Santiago del Teide are collecting plant and material because, in their own words, "the chief of works has said that it's finished".

The announcement was made by Agroexcavaciones Prieto and González Casañas, two of the businesses affected. Benjamin Prieto, owner of the excavation company, said that the cessation of works in respect of the most important road infrastructure in Tenerife could leave some 200 workers out of a job, and added that they had been given to understand that the works would not go further because of the lack of funds, and had been told only to stop, with no information about when works might resume. González Casañas confirmed that "they are blocking the exits and handing over materials".

The problem lies in the cuts in funding from Madrid to the Canaries for its road investment. Described as brutal, 2013′s funding was reduced by 74% from 207 to 54 million Euros. Mayor of Guía de Isora Pedro Martín, however, said that despite the cuts, the works could go ahead given the right priorities being drawn up by the regional Parliament. He described the lack of funds for the extension to be finished as "nonsensical". JA

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

I agree with the mayor.  This is a very important project for the island, and abandoning works when so much has already been invested is ridiculous.

The bridge below Tejina is in.  It does not have the blue guardrails and has not been tarred, but it's in.

[Janet]

The Canarian Government's Public Works minister, Domingo Berriel, has said that the motorway extension between Adeje and Santiago del Teide is too important and strategic a project for the economic development of the island to be allowed to lapse, and that it will go ahead this year despite the cuts in public funding. His comments were backed up by Tenerife Cabildo Vice President Carlos Alonso, who confirmed that the Public Works Department would find some formula over the next few weeks to allow the works to be resumed. Two possibilities that seem promising are to finance works under regional deficit, or to increase the aval conditions to provide better guarantees for contractors to continue. However they do it, they're looking at works resuming "in a few weeks". JA

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

YEA!!  Some common sense at last.

What's an aval condition?

[Janet]

An aval is a formal guarantee often in the form of a sum of money lodged in an escrow account, and is what has to be lodged when work is contracted. There are various forms of the aval, we had to pay one ourselves with the new house to guarantee against our harming the council roadway with heavy machinery etc. I don't know the nature of the aval when it comes to the TF1 works, but clearly the conditions are going to improve as far as someone is concerned, and that improvement means the works will be able to proceed ...

I don't know the detail beyond that, I'm afraid.

[minesadorada]

YEA!!  Some common sense at last.

....

Common sense?  At the bottom of Charco del Valle is a 'bridge to nowhere' over the autopista.   It was planned to be a connecting road to Paraisio but such a road would be funded my the Adeje ajuntamiento - no E.U. money for that.

It would make a fine ski jumping ramp i suppose, as it ends 10 metres in the air.

[Janet]

The Canarian Government is to allocate €15,000,000 to enable the TF1 extension between Adeje and Las Manchas in Santiago del Teide to be completed, the Tenerife Cabildo Roads Minister, José Luis Delgado, has confirmed. The money will come from increased borrowing which will be approved by the national government before the end of June, an approval which would release some €200,000,000 in total increased debt to the Canaries. Sr Delgado said that he was confident that 2014's budget would allocate a further €15,000,000 for the project so that the road should be open to traffic at the beginning of 2015. JA

[Nova]

Yay, there'll be a happy turtle with that news 

Those are huge amounts of money though considering the dire financial crisis we're in