Tenerife Council Delays Los Cristianos Transport Hub Project Amid Criticism

Traffic management in southern Tenerife is back in the spotlight after the Island Council extended the contract for the Los Cristianos transport hub and the undergrounding of Avenida Chayofita. The decision adds five months to the project’s design phase, leading the local PSOE and Arona’s socialist group to argue that construction will not begin within the current term.

Socialist leaders Tamara Raya and José Julián Mena claim there is a significant gap between the government’s promises and the reality on the ground. While the Island Council announced a 90-million-euro investment in December 2023 to tackle local traffic issues, the recent administrative change—approved on May 13—only extends the design and technical planning stages. This effectively delays the start of the actual construction tender.

Technically, the project, which was originally awarded in September 2023 with a one-year timeline, is still stuck in the approval and supervision process. The PSOE argues that this delay highlights poor management of the chronic congestion on the TF-1 and the streets of Los Cristianos. They maintain that the area is a major bottleneck that requires a comprehensive solution, including both the undergrounding project and new road connections.

This situation highlights the difficulty of completing infrastructure projects in the Canary Islands, where bureaucracy often pushes timelines well beyond election cycles. While the island’s governing coalition—the Canarian Coalition and the Popular Party—insists that these adjustments are necessary to ensure the project’s success, the opposition warns that residents continue to suffer from traffic congestion that remains one of the island's most pressing problems.