The Minister of Public Works, Transport and Housing of the Canary Islands has visited the Erjos tunnel, within the project "Anillo Insular de Tenerife"

The works are carried out by the temporary union of companies formed by FCC Construcción, El Silbo and Syocsa-Inarsa. The construction of the Santiago del Teide-El Tanque section is a fundamental infrastructure to improve mobility and connectivity between the north and south of the island of Tenerife, as well as to alleviate traffic congestion on the TF-5 highway in the direction of to Santa Cruz de Tenerife from the La Orotava Valley.

The project consists of the construction of the section of road to close the Tenerife island ring between kilometer point 11,270, on the outskirts of El Tanque, where it connects with the previous section of the ring already built (Buen Paso-El Tanque), and with kilometer 22,609, to the south, with the connection of the TF-1 and the Bicho tunnel in Santiago del Teide.

This new section of the insular ring will link the north (TF-5) and south (TF-1) corridors of the island to the northwest, connecting the towns of El Tanque and Santiago del Teide with a safer, faster and more greater capacity than the current TF-82. It is estimated that once this section is put into use, drivers will cover the distance between El Tanque and Santiago del Teide in less than 10 minutes, a route that currently, along the TF-82, requires approximately 25 minutes.

The most important action of the work is the construction of the Erjos tunnel, which solves the strong orographic obstacle that the Teno massif represents. This underground work, made up of two parallel tubes each 5.1 kilometers long, will run under the Teno massif and will be the longest tunnel in the island and one of the longest road tunnels in Spain.

The closure of the “Anillo Insular” in the northwest of the island has been planned as a necessary measure to balance the north-south traffic of vehicles, facilitating access for people residing in the north to the jobs offered by the southern region of Tenerife. In this way, the movements of residence that are common today are avoided and equality is guaranteed for all citizens of the island to access their jobs. For this reason, it is vitally important to facilitate this mobility in better conditions of safety, comfort and time saving than those offered by the current TF-82.