According to IP, the contract aims to "repair the pathologies identified in the interior walls of the tunnel, in the entry and exit areas, as well as the road surface, in order to ensure the restoration of road traffic conditions".

IP said in a statement sent today to Lusa that the contract is currently being put out to tender and is in the process of receiving proposals.

According to the note, the work to be carried out includes, among other things, cleaning and treating the surfaces, removal of fragments that present a risk of loosening and placement of a mesh of bolts and metal cables, in order to support larger blocks.

The intervention also includes the application of a double torsion network and the overlapping of a high resistance network for the containment of smaller blocks.

The Serra da Estrela road tunnel is on (ER) 338, near Manteigas, in the district of Guarda.

It is "the main road of the Serra da Estrela central massif", according to the same source.

The IP also mentioned that the tunnel is excavated in a rocky massif, located at an altitude between 1,650 and 1,700 meters, in an area subject to large temperature ranges and seasonal cycles of freezing and thawing.