Fatal Crash Renews Safety Concerns Over Tenerife’s Unfinished TF-46 Road
A fatal crash on Tenerife’s TF-46 has reignited criticism over the road's hazardous design and long-standing administrative delays in completing necessary safety upgrades.
A recent fatal crash at kilometer 93 of the TF-46 in Guía de Isora has reignited the debate over road safety on Tenerife’s Island Ring. According to Diario de Avisos, this accident, which claimed two lives, brings the total number of fatalities on this stretch to ten over the last decade—a record that has long drawn criticism from local residents and community groups.
Technical experts point to a clear mismatch between the road’s design and how it is actually used. While it carries more than 15,000 vehicles a day, the road lacks the safety features of a standard motorway. It is limited to 80 km/h and has no physical barrier between lanes. Furthermore, the uneven lane layout—two lanes toward Santiago del Teide but only one toward Adeje—means that even minor driver errors can easily lead to deadly head-on collisions.
The roots of the problem go back to the project’s original planning in 2006. At the time, a €167 million budget and political pressure to finish the work quickly led to compromises. Officials avoided a new environmental impact study and opted for a layout that was intended to be temporary. Although land was set aside for future expansion, that work never happened, leaving the road in a state of "permanent provisionality" for years.
While authorities have acknowledged the need for improvements—even starting the process for land expropriations—administrative delays have stalled progress for five years. Meanwhile, focus has shifted to the Erjos tunnel, the final piece of the Island Ring. That project, now costing over €263 million due to delays and design changes, is expected to be finished by early 2027.
The latest tragedy serves as a grim reminder that there is a dangerous gap between current regulations and the reality of a road that remains unfinished after two decades. While some have called for physical barriers to be installed, the road’s original design makes this difficult. For now, drivers continue to rely on an infrastructure that experts agree has failed to meet the safety and mobility needs it was built to address.