Anaga Lighthouse Access Blocked by Landslide, Repairs Underway
A €325,500 contract has been awarded to repair a collapsed retaining wall at the Anaga Lighthouse, the Canary Islands' oldest, after a landslide made the sea access path impassable, with work expected to take three months.
The Anaga Lighthouse, perched on Roque Bermejo, is one of seven lighthouses managed by the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It holds the title of the oldest lighthouse in the Canary Islands, with construction starting in 1861.
Reaching this historic tower is primarily done by sea, docking at a small pier near the beach. From there, a path leads to the lighthouse. However, this path relies on a retaining wall that recently experienced a landslide, causing a partial collapse. This damage has made the path impassable, which is crucial for maintaining the lighthouse.
To address this, the Port Authority awarded a contract at the end of October to repair the collapsed wall. Señalizaciones Tenerife was the sole bidder and secured the job for 325,500 euros. The repair work is expected to take three months.
Last May, the Port Authority commissioned Adriale Ingeniería to create a technical plan for replacing the roughly 10-meter wall. A collapsed section of this wall has made sea access extremely difficult.
The plan involves building a new wall anchored into the ground with bolts to support the path. Engineers suggest that these anchors will require very little maintenance. They also recommend embedding the anchor heads into the beam and adding a 30-centimeter thick concrete masonry lining.
Given the challenging terrain and the difficulty of bringing in heavy machinery and workers, the project study proposes transporting everything by boat daily, weather permitting. The study anticipates no major issues in completing the work within a year.