€96 Million for Gran Canaria’s Roads: What the Mega-Investment in GC-1, Tunnels and the Southern Network Means Until 2030

The GC-1: Lifeline of an Island That Lives on Tourism

If you rent a car on Gran Canaria, you will almost certainly drive on the GC-1. The Autopista del Sur is the busiest road in the Canary Islands: between 100,000 and 135,000 vehicles pass daily through the section between Las Palmas and Jínamar, and over 80,000 vehicles use the stretch between Salinetas and Maspalomas. The motorway connects LPA Airport with the capital Las Palmas and with the entire tourist south — Playa del Inglés, Meloneras, San Agustín, Puerto Rico and Mogán. Without the GC-1, nothing works on Gran Canaria.

The problem: the infrastructure is ageing and overloaded. The earliest sections of today’s motorway date from the 1960s, the Adolfo Cañas tunnel from 1999. The tunnel has to be regularly closed due to CO concentration because the ventilation system was not designed for current traffic volumes. Storm Therese showed last week what happens when infrastructure reaches its limits: the GC-1 was closed at the Tarajalillo junction near Bahía Feliz, the GC-550 near Temisas literally collapsed, and the GC-60 between Maspalomas and the highlands was impassable for days.

What Exactly Is Being Built — and Where

The €96 million is split across two separate contracts covering different parts of the island.

This is the larger of the two contracts and covers more than 450 kilometres of road. It is divided into two lots: Lot 1 (nearly €40M) covers the GC-1 motorway itself — from Las Palmas to Mogán, including all slip roads, crash barriers, road markings, drainage systems and lighting. Lot Sur (€13.4M) covers the entire road network in the south of the island, including the GC-60 (Maspalomas–Tunte, the only road from the south to the highlands), the GC-10 (Avenida del Cabildo) and the GC-100 (Telde bypass).

In practical terms, this means resurfacing, storm damage repair, renewal of crash barriers and road signs, cleaning drainage channels (particularly critical after the Therese rainfall), maintenance of lighting and regular inspection of all infrastructure. The average annual budget exceeds €13 million — enough to work continuously along the entire route rather than merely reacting to emergencies.

The second contract focuses on the 153 kilometres of the most heavily trafficked roads around the capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. This includes the northern section of the GC-1 (Belén María to Jínamar), the GC-2 (Autovía del Norte), the GC-3 (ring road), the GC-4 (Tafira variant) and several smaller connecting roads. Crucially, this contract covers the maintenance of eleven tunnels totalling 10.6 kilometres, including the Adolfo Cañas tunnel — the neuralgic bottleneck of the GC-1 that must be closed during congestion due to CO build-up. It also includes 21 underpasses and 14 viaducts, among them the Guiniguada viaduct and the Riquianez bridge.

The annual budget for this contract is approximately €10.7 million — an increase of 78 per cent compared to the previous contract from 2017 (then €24M total with annual budgets of barely six million). The increase is explained by rising material and labour costs after eight years, new EU safety regulations (Directive 2004/54/EC for tunnels over 500 metres), ageing ventilation and lighting systems that urgently need modernisation, and additional road kilometres that have come under Cabildo responsibility since 2017.

Why Now: Therese as a Warning

The €96 million was approved by the Cabildo’s Governing Council on 18 March 2026 — the same day Storm Therese struck its first blow against the island. The coincidence was unintentional but symbolic: the week following approval showed in real time what inadequate infrastructure means. The GC-550 near Temisas collapsed, isolating an entire village. The GC-60 was cut off by flooding and landslides. The GC-1 was closed at the Tarajalillo junction. Over 3,000 people were evacuated or cut off from the outside world.

Augusto Hidalgo, the Cabildo’s Councillor for Public Works (Nueva Canarias), emphasised at the approval that the goal was “continuous and efficient maintenance” of the entire island’s infrastructure — not just patching holes after storms but preventive maintenance that stops damage before it occurs. Storm Therese reinforced that argument more powerfully than any presentation could have.

What Changes for the South

For visitors and residents of the south, the impact is tangible:

Better road surfaces on the GC-1: The motorway between the airport and Maspalomas should be maintained permanently in good condition — no longer repaired only after an accident or a flood. This means fewer potholes, intact markings, functioning lighting and, above all, an improved drainage system that reduces aquaplaning risk during heavy rain.

Safer mountain roads: The GC-60 from Maspalomas to Tunte — the road tourists take to Roque Nublo, Fataga and the mountain villages — is one of the most problematic roads on the island. Narrow, winding, with outdated crash barriers and railings, some dating from the 1970s. The new contract provides for systematic renewal of safety features — an overdue measure for a road driven daily by hundreds of rental cars.

Modernised tunnels: The Adolfo Cañas tunnel on the GC-1 at La Laja — for southbound travellers the gateway to the motorway from Las Palmas — is set to receive a new ventilation system and be adapted to the EU tunnel directive. Parallel projects are already under way for an evacuation gallery with two emergency exits. The aim: the tunnel should no longer need to be closed during congestion.

Malecones replaced: The traditional Canarian stone walls (malecones) along many mountain roads are being replaced by modern metal barriers — a parallel project worth €32 million that has been running since 2024 and whose results are already visible in the mid-altitude areas.

The Bigger Picture: Infrastructure on a Tourism Island

The €96 million is part of a broader infrastructure push by the Cabildo under Antonio Morales (Nueva Canarias). Running in parallel are the Salto de Chira pumped-storage plant (€320M), the modernisation of Las Palmas harbour and the road lighting project (€9.6M for LED conversion on tunnels and motorways). Together with Spain’s Convenio de Carreteras — an agreement between the state and the Canary Islands worth €1.47 billion for road construction across all islands — substantial funds are flowing into infrastructure over the coming years.

For an island whose economy depends 36.8 per cent on tourism, functioning roads are not a luxury but a necessity for survival. The 18 million tourists who visit the Canary Islands each year expect infrastructure that works — from the airport to the hotel, from the hotel to the beach, from the beach to Roque Nublo. The €96 million is a signal that the Cabildo understands this connection.

Whether the contracts will be awarded on time and works completed as planned remains to be seen. Experience with public construction projects in the Canaries counsels caution: the predecessor contract for the metropolitan area was awarded in 2017 and is only now expiring — well beyond the originally planned four years. But the investment itself is a fact, the urgency after Therese is undeniable, and for anyone stuck in traffic on the GC-1 or swerving around a pothole on the GC-60, it is welcome news.

Related articles: Storm Therese: Military on Gran Canaria · Economy & Politics Gran Canaria — Guide · 26% Electricity From Renewables · Tourism Guide Gran Canaria

GC-1 motorwayGran Canaria roadsCabildo investmentCanary Islands infrastructureMaspalomasPlaya del InglésMelonerastunnel Gran CanariaAugusto HidalgoStorm ThereseGC-60 Maspalomas Tuntetraffic Gran CanariaCanary IslandsGran Canaria tourismroad construction Canaries 2026