New Padre Anchieta Pedestrian Bridge Opens to Ease Tenerife Traffic Bottleneck
Tenerife has inaugurated the Padre Anchieta pedestrian bridge, a major engineering project designed to alleviate chronic traffic congestion and improve safety for thousands of daily commuters in La Laguna.
The new Padre Anchieta pedestrian bridge is a major milestone for traffic in Tenerife’s metropolitan area. According to the Island Council, this project is designed to fix one of the island's most congested road junctions. It serves as a vital urban experiment aimed at clearing a bottleneck used by 50,000 vehicles and 20,000 pedestrians every day.
Led by Rosa Dávila, the Island Council expects the bridge to improve traffic flow at the roundabout and the TF-5 connections by 20%. The core strategy is to separate pedestrians from cars. By removing surface crosswalks, the project eliminates the constant conflict between vehicles and students moving between university faculties, bus stops, and the tram. The Road Control Center will monitor the area over the coming weeks to see if these initial improvements lead to long-term traffic relief.
The bridge is an impressive feat of engineering. Designed by Fhecor Ingenieros Consultores, it features a 100-meter-diameter metal ring with a total length of 314 meters. The construction required 1,250 tons of steel, making it one of the most technically challenging infrastructure projects ever completed in the Canary Islands.
The project also prioritizes accessibility, with oversight from SINPROMI. It includes ramps with a gentle 6% slope, LED lighting, and an elevator on Avenida de la Trinidad, making the area fully accessible for everyone. This design, which received a National Innovation and Design Award in 2019, reflects a broader goal to encourage walking and public transport, reducing the need for private cars for short trips in La Laguna.
Completing this bridge addresses a long-standing public demand and marks a shift in how Tenerife plans its infrastructure. By focusing on road safety and better connections to public transport, the Island Council hopes to ease the traffic pressure that has affected the area for decades. The success of this project will now be tested in real-world conditions, which may determine whether similar solutions are used at other busy junctions across the island.