Driving through Anaga is one of the best experiences you can have in Tenerife. The views are spectacular, the villages are beautiful and the roads… well, they can be a bit interesting at times.
Anyone who’s driven up there knows exactly what I mean.
The Cabildo de Tenerife has now announced a new round of road safety improvements across the Anaga road network, with around €1.8 million being invested this year.
The aim is fairly simple. Improve safety and keep the island’s road network functioning properly… especially in areas like Anaga where the terrain doesn’t exactly make life easy.
Work planned on the TF-12
One of the main projects focuses on the TF-12 road, which is the route many people take when driving through the Anaga mountains.
The Cabildo has approved a project to improve drainage ditches along a section of the road, specifically between kilometre points 22+635 and 26+575.
The work has a budget of just over €305,000 and is expected to take about six months once it begins.
In practical terms, the project will include:
- Raising and improving six drainage ditch sections
- Covering a total length of around 662 metres
- Removing damaged road edges
- Cleaning existing drainage channels
- Installing a new concrete layer to improve water drainage
It’s not glamorous work, but in mountainous areas like Anaga, drainage is crucial. Poor drainage quickly damages road surfaces and increases the risk of accidents.
Previous improvements already completed
This latest project follows earlier work carried out in the area, including improvements to drainage between Las Canteras and Pico del Inglés, which was done after discussions with local residents.
Over the past year, the Cabildo has carried out several other upgrades across the Anaga road network as well.
These include:
- 500 metres of ditch improvements and construction of seven roadside passing bays on the TF-12 between Cruz del Carmen and Jardina
- Road resurfacing on the TF-145, using more than 500 tonnes of asphalt, improving access to villages such as El Río, Las Carboneras and Taborno
Road markings and parking control
Road safety isn’t just about the surface.
The Cabildo has also been repainting road markings, including around 13 kilometres of thermoplastic road markings on the TF-113 and Avenida República Argentina.
Additional yellow markings have been added in places such as:
- The access road to Taborno (TF-138)
- The area around Almáciga beach (TF-134)
The goal there is to stop cars parking in places where they can cause traffic problems or block emergency access.
Slope stabilisation and vegetation work
If you’ve driven in Anaga during heavy rain, you’ll know that rockfalls are a real issue.
To reduce that risk, the Cabildo has also stabilised a slope along the TF-143, using sprayed concrete and steel grid mesh.
Specialist teams working with rope access have also been clearing unstable rock and debris along several roads including:
- TF-123
- TF-143
- TF-12
- TF-136
On top of that, vegetation clearing and tree cutting has been carried out along roads such as TF-145, TF-138, TF-136 and TF-143, with more work still ongoing.
More resurfacing planned
Another project is scheduled for next month on the TF-134 in Taganana, where around 1,860 tonnes of asphalt will be laid to improve driving conditions.
Regular maintenance helps
The roads through Anaga will probably never be simple to drive. They’re narrow, winding and carved through mountains that have been there for millions of years.
But regular maintenance like this makes a big difference.
A few metres of drainage here… a stabilised slope there… and suddenly those dramatic mountain roads become just that little bit safer.
If you’d like to read the original announcement from the Cabildo, you can see the source article here.