Where on the GC-1 did the metal pieces lie?

Southbound drivers on the GC-1 ran into trouble overnight into Wednesday 11 November, between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Balos. The stretch lies close to the La Machacadora area.

One driver reported the objects between the Carrefour and the petrol station at Juan Grande. They lay next to the solid line separating the right-hand lane from the hard shoulder.

The witness called them “a kind of spikes”. They are hard to spot in the dark: “At night you can’t see them unless you watch the road closely.”

What should drivers in the south watch for now?

About 170,000 vehicles use the GC-1 each day, according to Cabildo (island government) president Antonio Morales, who said so in June 2025. There is no single official figure, and other estimates range from more than 130,000 to more than 160,000.

The objects are gone from the carriageway, and the road service and the Guardia Civil were at the scene. The report still advises extra care on this stretch, above all close to the hard shoulder.

The witness singled out the edge of the road. A driver who drifts out of the lane onto the hard shoulder could run into the pieces, and it is not known whether any remain after the clear-up.

Staying in your lane is the simplest precaution, also for visitors in rental cars. Neither the Cabildo, the Guardia Civil nor the DGT traffic authority had published further official advice.

What is known about the cause and those responsible?

The report does not confirm where the metal pieces came from. Whether they caused all the breakdowns and damage is also unclear.

The report speaks of “several” vehicles and gives no exact number. Nobody has shown a link to strike pickets, and we do not suggest one.

Another case on the GC-1: the Guardia Civil in Agüimes investigated two teenagers, aged 15 and 16, suspected of throwing stones at southbound cars. The date is not given, and that case involved stones, not metal parts.

Why is there a strike on 11 November?

The general strike on Wednesday 11 November 2026 lasts a full 24 hours. The unions CCOO and UGT called it, backed by tenants’ and social associations.

According to Manuel Navarro, general secretary of UGT Canarias, it is the first general strike since 2012. The unions give housing, prices and wages as their reasons.

Ignacio Hernández of CCOO puts the number of empty homes in the Canaries at 211,000. The employers’ associations CEOE and Cepyme reject the strike as inadmissible.

The strike comes shortly before the parliamentary election on Sunday 29 November, and the campaign starts on 13 November. Daniel Casal, general secretary of the FSC union, did not rule out a further general strike, depending on the response on 11 November.

Will the buses run on strike day?

Gran Canaria’s guaguas (buses) have no confirmed list of minimum services. Vanesa Frahija, general secretary of CCOO Canarias, hoped in October that officials would not impose excessive minimum services.

The transport authority decides on minimum services, not the bus company. In November 2024, during an earlier strike, the Autoridad Única del Transporte set 50% for city and intercity buses on Gran Canaria.

No figure is confirmed for 11 November. If you rely on the bus, check with Global, Guaguas Municipales or the transport authority.

Earlier strikes damaged vehicles: on day one of the September 2025 intercity bus strike, eleven attacks on buses were counted on Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. That does not prove a link to the metal pieces on the GC-1.

Who is responsible for the GC-1 and what comes next?

Only the DGT can act on tow trucks and fast help after accidents, Cabildo president Antonio Morales said in October 2025. Neither the Canarian government, nor the Cabildo, nor Telde town council is responsible there.

All the administrations sit on a technical commission that meets monthly on incidents on the GC-1. Morales criticised the head of the provincial traffic authority for missing two meetings in September and October 2025.

The Canarian government is pushing ahead with a fourth lane between Bocabarranco and La Estrella. It costs almost 10 million euros, according to Consejero (regional minister) Pablo Rodríguez.

Whether a report of 30 October 2026 on roadworks in Telde refers to the same project is not confirmed. Neither investigators, the Cabildo nor the DGT has said more on the metal pieces, or whether the Guardia Civil has opened an investigation.