TF1 extension saga

[Janet]

is OK is not real money ... is debt .....

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

Agreed both, but the turtle is very happy.  Just think, Nova, you can speed around even more quickly to visit us when it's open! 

This is good for the island: tourists will be happy and locals will shave time off commutes. 

[Perikles]

...and locals will shave time off commutes.

Yep, all we need now is a few jobs to commute to. 

[Janet]

It's like the proverbial you know what ... on again, off again, on again, off again, ad nauseam. After announcing in June that the money was there, albeit in increased debt form, the road is now paralysed again, and will remain so until at least the end of September by which time the Government should have approved an amended budget. The works are €20m short of funds to finish the Adeje-Santiago del Teide section, the biggest problem of which is bridging the barranco de Erques. Works on the Adeje-Chio section are now expected to resume in October and to take around 20 months to complete, Tenerife's directora de Carreteras, Ofelia Majón-Cabeza, said yesterday. The Chio-Santiago section seems to be completely up in the air. JA

[Janet]

The Canarian Government's consejero de Obras Públicas, Transportes y Política Territorial, Domingo Berriel, has told the Tenerife Cabildo that it will provide €10m for the Adeje to Santiago del Teide stretch of the TF1 extension, a piece that is already largely constructed. The monies are some €5m less that originally promised, but it should be sufficient, the Government says, for the two major remaining sections of the stretch to complete, namely the Vicácaro and Erques bridges, and for equipment for the El Bicho tunnel. So it's back on for now ... JA

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

We've been hearing rocks breaking and trucks have been observed moving around at the base where we think they are using.  We hope it's going again.

[Janet]

So, €20m was originally promised to provide the absolute minimum to get the Adeje-Santiago del Teide stretch finished. This was then reduced to €15m, and in the event it will be €6m. Far from enough, the Cabildo says, to get the works finished, and categorically will not allow this section of the extension to open before the end of 2014 at the earliest. To say the Cabildo is angry at the Government is an understatement ... JA

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

The Cabildo is not alone.

[Janet]

The new president of the Tenerife Cabildo, Carlos Alonso, has announced that the TF1 extension will restart in October. Ferrovial will resume works thanks to the €6m provided by the Canarian Government. Sr Alonso also confirmed that he will shortly initiate a series of meetings with the Canarian Government to conclude an agreement for funds to be made available in 2014 for works which remain outstanding. JA

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

I can confirm there were trucks on the TF-1 below Tejina this morning, actually looking like they were working.