Following the devastation caused by storm Therese in late March, residents of the neighborhoods bordering the Arguineguín ravine presented about twenty demands to the authorities. A ten-day period was agreed upon to verify the progress of the solutions. The first commitment, the reopening of the GC-505 section in Cercados de Espino, was met last Monday, four days after the agreement. The road, now featuring New Jersey barriers instead of the guardrails torn away by the water, is operational. Soon, road improvement works will begin along the entire stretch, awarded to Lopesan for 1.1 million euros.
Other interventions require more time, and to facilitate them, heavy machinery is working intensely in the ravine bed, which was once a green area, to create a temporary roadway. Tons of earth have been used to level and prepare the terrain, which just two weeks ago was ravaged by strong runoff. Of the flow that isolated residents for five days, only a small artificial channel remains.
Companies contracted by Redeia are constructing an access road for machinery heading to the tunnel-gallery. In two weeks, they have refilled part of the ravine bed, which was heavily altered with debris, pipes, and three construction containers, one of which remains stranded in El Caidero (Mogán).
“"The purpose of this roadway is precisely to enable quick passage for machinery, allowing, for example, the swift removal of all material dragged by the flood."
Concepción assured residents, who expressed concern about the infill, that the roadway is temporary and that the ravine will be clear before the new hydrological year begins in October. He also promised that the bed would be restored once the works are completed. Concepción's agenda for this week includes numerous meetings with affected parties to hear their concerns and offer solutions.
Among the pending tasks is the repair of a section of the narrow road leading up to Huesa Bermeja, affected by a landslide caused by the rupture of the Lumbre canal. Warning cones indicate the risk. Another crucial action is the construction of a protective wall for El Caidero residents closest to the ravine bed, as well as improving the turn for vehicles accessing Huesa Bermeja from the El Caidero road.
The works are not confined to a single area but extend throughout the ravine's neighborhoods. While some workers remove accumulated reeds, others clear sewage networks and replace sections of wastewater pipes carried away by the current.
