Roads on the Canary Islands

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Enceladus
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Roads on the Canary Islands

Post by Enceladus »

So as I'm over here in sunny Fuerteventura for my Christmas hols with my partner, and we rented a car to explore the island (planning to take a ferry to Lanzarote tomorrow) naturally I was interested in the roads over here.

From my week long trip to Gran Canaria last year, I noted that the roads were generally of a pretty good standard - there was a D2M motorway, GC1, linking the airport just south of Las Palmas to Maspalomas and most roads I travelled on seemed to have many, many roundabouts.

Here in Fuerteventura, there is not much motorway or DC (the island only has a population of about 160,000) and the main North-South route, the FV2, runs close to the east coast from Coralejo in the North to Morro Jable in the South. We are staying at a resort hotel in Costa Calma, near the south.

The FV-2 is mainly standard S2, with short sections of DC with tight interchanges and some sections of D1. There are many roundabouts at junctions, some small, others larger in size.

The D1 sections seem to be very common in the built up resort areas, and many sections of S2 on hills have climbing lanes. Crash barriers are very evident along bends and in the median of the D2 sections. Road surface varies from very smooth to bumpy with patching. Where there are reflectors/cats eyes, they are good.

There are also many dirt/gravel roads, off the tarmac roads.

Anyone have another observations from their time spent in the Canaries?
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Re: Roads on the Canary Islands

Post by B6047 »

Yes - ive now driven on five of them having just returned from Tenerife/La Gomera/La Palma. Haven't done Fuerteventura yet. It really depends on the terrain as the Canary Islands are formed from volcanos so there are not many flat surfaces except on the coast. Lanzarote is best for driving with reasonably straight, flat, wide enough roads with not too much traffic. The roads across the lava flows especially good. Grand Canaria does have GC1 around most of the coast but crossing the interior there are narrow winding roads which take time but are worth it for the views. La Gomera is very quiet with great roads through the central forest. Tenerife is like Grand Canaria on the coast but La Gomera in the interior - except for the winding road down to the idyllic settlement of Masca - which is full of hire cars and tour buses but only one and a half car widths from the rock face to the edge. La Palma is hard work except from the airport to the capital. Sometimes the only straight roads are through tunnels.
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Re: Roads on the Canary Islands

Post by Berk »

Yes, I’ve done the GC-200 around the west coast of Gran Canaria. There’s no doubt it’s a challenging, but enjoyable drive. There is a part which has now closed - in the Baranco la Arena - but it has been replaced by the GC-2 (2+1, I think??) along that stretch. You can still take the old road up to the mirador, but if you drive any further, you’ll only have to turn back.

I also noticed old/Franco-style milestones along the road there?? I seem to recall it was itself an improvement, dating from about 1954. Heaven knows what the old, old road was like. Google seems to show the old road as still fully open, and the new road as under construction. Even though it’s been fully open around 3 years now.

It is recognised that the GC-200 is sub-standard in places, and where it is to be replaced, the GC-1 or GC-2 will (or have been) extended to cover that. But in typically Spanish style, there’s no firm target, or deadline. Though that also may reflect available funding.

I never thought of island-hopping when I was over there. Maybe because I was enjoying the island as a winter break (the emphasis being on sun and beach). Not been to the other islands yet, either.

Another year I might consider Tenerife for a change. :)
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Re: Roads on the Canary Islands

Post by Enceladus »

Well, we took the car ferry over to Lanzarote from Corralejo yesterday - the roads on Lanzarote are of a generally better standard than Fuerteventura (smaller island but more densely populated). There are some winding mountain roads with really spectacular views. Traffic on Lanzarote seems a good bit heavier than Fuerteventura and there are tight sections of D2M around the main city, Ariciefe.

I'll post up a few pics I took shortly. Happy New Year! :D
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Re: Roads on the Canary Islands

Post by Enceladus »

Some pics of the roads we drove on in Fuerteventura last December/January:-

This is a section of the FV-2, which links the main urban Centre, Puerto Del Rosario to Moro Jable in the South of the Island. It was relatively lightly trafficked outside of the resort areas and is of a generally good standard, with climbing lanes on hill sections and roundabouts at major junctions. Sections have been upgraded to DC near the airport and around the Costa Calma resort in the South.

Image



This second photo shows a D1 section of the FV-1, which acts as a partial bypass to the west of the resort and port of Corralejo, located at the very north of the island. It was built to allow traffic accessing the port of Corralejo to avoid traveling through the narrow streets of the old town. This port connects Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.

D1 sections of road appear to be very common in the built up resort areas of Fuerteventura.

Image



This final photo shows a D2M section of the FV-1 constructed in the past five years. This road allows speedy transit between the main urban Centre on the island, Puerto Del Rosario and the major resort of Corralejo.

Image
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Re: Roads on the Canary Islands

Post by M4Simon »

The only Canary Island I've been to is Gran Canaria. I have driven GC1 which is a mix of D2M and a few sections of D3M from the airport to its terminus at Mogan many times. I mentioned it recently as one of my favourite roads. The south-western end runs through a series of impressive tunnels and over some viaducts in order to deal with the terrain which is formed of a series of mountains and valleys running from the centre of the island like a series of spokes running to the coast. https://goo.gl/maps/zedMByTRiw15FeUJ9

The old coast road (the GC500) is now permanently closed between Puerto de Mogan and Taurito due to a land slip. There have been reports of plans for a tunnel to get round the obstruction. https://goo.gl/maps/GSmSB7CSmb4Cj3ih9
The layout of junction 67 https://goo.gl/maps/k8i72Cx42Mm3fZnZ7 is such that to get from Mogan to Taurito you need to head east 5km to the Puerto Rico exit on GC1, then turn round back to junction 67.

I've also driven up into the mountains, lots of lovely hairpin bends to explore!

Simon
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Re: Roads on the Canary Islands

Post by M4Simon »

M4Simon wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2020 06:50The only Canary Island I've been to is Gran Canaria. I have driven GC1 which is a mix of D2M and a few sections of D3M from the airport to its terminus at Mogan many times. I mentioned it recently as one of my favourite roads. The south-western end runs through a series of impressive tunnels and over some viaducts in order to deal with the terrain which is formed of a series of mountains and valleys running from the centre of the island like a series of spokes running to the coast. https://goo.gl/maps/zedMByTRiw15FeUJ9

The old coast road (the GC500) is now permanently closed between Puerto de Mogan and Taurito due to a land slip. There have been reports of plans for a tunnel to get round the obstruction. https://goo.gl/maps/GSmSB7CSmb4Cj3ih9
The layout of junction 67 https://goo.gl/maps/k8i72Cx42Mm3fZnZ7 is such that to get from Mogan to Taurito you need to head east 5km to the Puerto Rico exit on GC1, then turn round back to junction 67.

I've also driven up into the mountains, lots of lovely hairpin bends to explore!

Simon
A bit more time to expand on the GC1. There are 10 twin-bore tunnels over a length of 15km from somewhere west of Maspalomas to Mogan, the longest of which is 2.5km in length, just to the east of the limited access Taurito interchange I mentioned above. There is an interesting article by (I think) the designers on the western most 7km of motorway, completed in 2013 which includes 4 of the tunnels, which make up about 70% of the length of the section. It is a great drive, just what you need after a 4 hour flight and collection of a hire car - about 30 minutes to Puerto de Mogan, ready for a refreshing drink and a lovely swim!

There are sections where so little grows you can get a good idea of what the first motorway on Mars will look like: https://goo.gl/maps/MBEBbE5E2yY9ACYV8

I've only been on the northern end a couple of times, and only as far as the GC3 junction. GC3 forms an outer bypass of Las Palmas and is a good way to get to the lovely mountain village of Teror, complete with more hairpins.

Simon
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Re: Roads on the Canary Islands

Post by scragend »

M4Simon wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2020 11:06
M4Simon wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2020 06:50The only Canary Island I've been to is Gran Canaria. I have driven GC1 which is a mix of D2M and a few sections of D3M from the airport to its terminus at Mogan many times. I mentioned it recently as one of my favourite roads. The south-western end runs through a series of impressive tunnels and over some viaducts in order to deal with the terrain which is formed of a series of mountains and valleys running from the centre of the island like a series of spokes running to the coast. https://goo.gl/maps/zedMByTRiw15FeUJ9

The old coast road (the GC500) is now permanently closed between Puerto de Mogan and Taurito due to a land slip. There have been reports of plans for a tunnel to get round the obstruction. https://goo.gl/maps/GSmSB7CSmb4Cj3ih9
The layout of junction 67 https://goo.gl/maps/k8i72Cx42Mm3fZnZ7 is such that to get from Mogan to Taurito you need to head east 5km to the Puerto Rico exit on GC1, then turn round back to junction 67.

I've also driven up into the mountains, lots of lovely hairpin bends to explore!

Simon
A bit more time to expand on the GC1. There are 10 twin-bore tunnels over a length of 15km from somewhere west of Maspalomas to Mogan, the longest of which is 2.5km in length, just to the east of the limited access Taurito interchange I mentioned above. There is an interesting article by (I think) the designers on the western most 7km of motorway, completed in 2013 which includes 4 of the tunnels, which make up about 70% of the length of the section. It is a great drive, just what you need after a 4 hour flight and collection of a hire car - about 30 minutes to Puerto de Mogan, ready for a refreshing drink and a lovely swim!

There are sections where so little grows you can get a good idea of what the first motorway on Mars will look like: https://goo.gl/maps/MBEBbE5E2yY9ACYV8

I've only been on the northern end a couple of times, and only as far as the GC3 junction. GC3 forms an outer bypass of Las Palmas and is a good way to get to the lovely mountain village of Teror, complete with more hairpins.

Simon
I love the roads in the interior of Gran Canaria. It's been over three years since I was there but I used to go every year. Trying to get up some of the inclines in my feeble little hire car was a challenge sometimes. And there were people riding bikes up them! Insane!

It was a shame about what happened to the "old road". I tended to take it to get back to where I stayed in Puerto de Mogan rather than the motorway, just because it was more fun to drive. When I first went, that was all there was - the motorway stopped at Puerto Rico then.

I'd probably take the GC500 from Puerto Rico all the way to Maspalomas too. Why take a motorway when you can take a proper driving road? (I started booking a bigger hire car after a while, one that actually had some power!)

Ah the memories.
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Re: Roads on the Canary Islands

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scragend wrote: Sun Jun 21, 2020 09:52 I love the roads in the interior of Gran Canaria. It's been over three years since I was there but I used to go every year. Trying to get up some of the inclines in my feeble little hire car was a challenge sometimes. And there were people riding bikes up them! Insane!
A colleague of mine is a very keen cyclist and has been to Gran Canaria a few times to cycle up the mountain roads. I might have said that I'm not getting out of his way if I see him on his bike while I'm in my hire car ;-)
It was a shame about what happened to the "old road". I tended to take it to get back to where I stayed in Puerto de Mogan rather than the motorway, just because it was more fun to drive. When I first went, that was all there was - the motorway stopped at Puerto Rico then.
It is a shame, I understand it is not repairable. I also enjoyed driving it, and have been as far as Arguineguin on it (not sure I spelt that correctly). Unfortunately, the Taurito junction layout makes it a very long trip to get from Puerto de Mogan to Taurito or even Tauro. The road is so dangerous, it is not even open to pedestrians and cyclists, and I am told that they've built a wall across it at each end.

There has been talk of building a temporary roundabout on the motorway mainline at the Taurito turning to enable full access between Mogan and Taurito / Tauro, but as far as I know, nothing has happened on that.
I'd probably take the GC500 from Puerto Rico all the way to Maspalomas too. Why take a motorway when you can take a proper driving road? (I started booking a bigger hire car after a while, one that actually had some power!)
Horses for course for me - when I've been travelling for several hours, it is the motorway every time. When pootling about on the island, the coast road is good - more fun and more to see.

Simon
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Re: Roads on the Canary Islands

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scragend wrote: Sun Jun 21, 2020 09:52I love the roads in the interior of Gran Canaria. It's been over three years since I was there but I used to go every year. Trying to get up some of the inclines in my feeble little hire car was a challenge sometimes. And there were people riding bikes up them! Insane!
I meant to add this to my previous answer. I've been four times to Gran Canaria, each time staying in Puerto de Mogan. The first visit was just over 5 years ago, and we could sit at our swimmingpool overlooking the site on the valley floor where the groundworks for the Raddisson Blu were under way. As a civil engineer, I was fascinated by the fleet of tipper lorries removing material from the site, and taking it up the long zig-zag road up the mountain on the other side of the valley. For various reasons (my ill-health at the time), I didn't drive, or walk the road to see where they were going though I understand that it was accessible to the public at the time. (Go back to 2009, it was a narrow lane). In 2016 they were building the walls and gates which have subsequently stopped me from exploring the road. I believe it belongs to the owners of a plantation in the next valley.

I would be interested to learn more about it.

Simon
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Re: Roads on the Canary Islands

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M4Simon wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 13:51 I meant to add this to my previous answer. I've been four times to Gran Canaria, each time staying in Puerto de Mogan. The first visit was just over 5 years ago, and we could sit at our swimmingpool overlooking the site on the valley floor where the groundworks for the Raddisson Blu were under way. As a civil engineer, I was fascinated by the fleet of tipper lorries removing material from the site, and taking it up the long zig-zag road up the mountain on the other side of the valley. For various reasons (my ill-health at the time), I didn't drive, or walk the road to see where they were going though I understand that it was accessible to the public at the time. (Go back to 2009, it was a narrow lane). In 2016 they were building the walls and gates which have subsequently stopped me from exploring the road. I believe it belongs to the owners of a plantation in the next valley.

I would be interested to learn more about it.

Simon
I know the road you mean. Back in March 2016 I went on a group hike with some people I met there, from P-de-M all the way to Veneguera beach via the zig zag road. By then it was already blocked off to traffic at the bottom with temporary gates but if you knew where you were going you could get up the slope closer to the houses and then get onto the road further up. Twelve months later the permanent gates were up and the cheeky alternative pedestrian access had been blocked off too.

It was a beautiful walk (about 2 hours each way) to Veneguera. Obviously very little traffic other than the odd construction vehicle. There is a banana plantation on top of one of the hills further along the road - on the way back some of us hitched a lift with one of the workers, the back of whose car was full of bananas. Perks of the job I guess!

Lopesan are the contractors concerned. There hadn't been much development up there when I walked the road, but I should imagine it's moved on apace by now. I read that they were building a warehouse or something for the bananas. There was a lot of controversy when they first blocked off the road - from what I remember it was very much open to dispute whether they were actually entitled to close it off completely because of the existence of an old public right of way.

All the development in Puerto de Mogan was kicking off in earnest when I was there in 2017 and I haven't been back since. I'm not sure what I'd think if I went back; I'm afraid that the character of the place may have changed from a nice little fishing village (although it was always a little bit fake really) that people went to during the day or for a meal at night and then returned to their hotels elsewhere, to a resort in its own right. I think they've developed the commercial centre in the valley now, which used to be a bit of a white elephant. The price of progress, I suppose, the place has perhaps been a victim of its own success. I know I was a tourist too, so it's perhaps hypocritical of me to complain!

I used to stay in the hostel up in the old part of the town and enjoyed going down to the bars in the old warehouses (now demolished) with the locals after everyone else had gone back to their hotels. We had some good nights!
M4Simon wrote: Horses for course for me - when I've been travelling for several hours, it is the motorway every time. When pootling about on the island, the coast road is good - more fun and more to see.
Oh yes I understand where you're coming from. Motorway to and from the airport for me, but probably old road apart from that :)
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Re: Roads on the Canary Islands

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scragend wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 16:44
M4Simon wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 13:51 I meant to add this to my previous answer. I've been four times to Gran Canaria, each time staying in Puerto de Mogan. The first visit was just over 5 years ago, and we could sit at our swimmingpool overlooking the site on the valley floor where the groundworks for the Raddisson Blu were under way. As a civil engineer, I was fascinated by the fleet of tipper lorries removing material from the site, and taking it up the long zig-zag road up the mountain on the other side of the valley. For various reasons (my ill-health at the time), I didn't drive, or walk the road to see where they were going though I understand that it was accessible to the public at the time. (Go back to 2009, it was a narrow lane). In 2016 they were building the walls and gates which have subsequently stopped me from exploring the road. I believe it belongs to the owners of a plantation in the next valley.

I would be interested to learn more about it.

Simon
I know the road you mean. Back in March 2016 I went on a group hike with some people I met there, from P-de-M all the way to Veneguera beach via the zig zag road. By then it was already blocked off to traffic at the bottom with temporary gates but if you knew where you were going you could get up the slope closer to the houses and then get onto the road further up. Twelve months later the permanent gates were up and the cheeky alternative pedestrian access had been blocked off too.

It was a beautiful walk (about 2 hours each way) to Veneguera. Obviously very little traffic other than the odd construction vehicle. There is a banana plantation on top of one of the hills further along the road - on the way back some of us hitched a lift with one of the workers, the back of whose car was full of bananas. Perks of the job I guess!

Lopesan are the contractors concerned. There hadn't been much development up there when I walked the road, but I should imagine it's moved on apace by now. I read that they were building a warehouse or something for the bananas. There was a lot of controversy when they first blocked off the road - from what I remember it was very much open to dispute whether they were actually entitled to close it off completely because of the existence of an old public right of way.
Yes, 2016 ties up with our second visit, and the road was shut then. My Father in law has been going to PdeM for many years and he's walked up that road.
All the development in Puerto de Mogan was kicking off in earnest when I was there in 2017 and I haven't been back since. I'm not sure what I'd think if I went back; I'm afraid that the character of the place may have changed from a nice little fishing village (although it was always a little bit fake really) that people went to during the day or for a meal at night and then returned to their hotels elsewhere, to a resort in its own right. I think they've developed the commercial centre in the valley now, which used to be a bit of a white elephant. The price of progress, I suppose, the place has perhaps been a victim of its own success. I know I was a tourist too, so it's perhaps hypocritical of me to complain!
The last time I went there was March 2019. Maybe I'm getting old but we've done a lot of the touristy things in the area, and life has been such that we wanted somewhere to go for reliable winter sun (the south-west coast of Gran Canaria has its own micro-climate and is much drier than the northern half of the island) and an opportunity to chill out and relax, which has become increasingly important to us.

There has been a gradual development of the valley floor around the shopping centre, but in my view it remains a bit of a white elephant - still nothing in the unit above the Dino Supermarket, and lots of other empty stores. We've always stayed at the Cordial Mogan Valle Apartments, so the shopping centre is convenient but uninspiring. For me, the village retains its charm, though there is little left of the old town. I prefer it to most of the other resorts along the coast towards Puerto Rico as there is still some open space.

Simon
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