Last November, in northern Portugal, the consortium Teixeira Duarte/EPOS started completion work on the bi-tube 5.7 km-long Marao tunnel. Work on the missing link on the 32 km-long A4/IP4 connection between Amarante and Vila Real was abandoned some five years ago following a contractual dispute. Average advance is currently 18 m/day over four faces, and had reached 900 m by end-January. Waterproofing and final lining works are also underway. Three separate contracts were awarded for the conclusion of the project, in an attempt to minimize risks and costs. The 10 km section from Amarante to the tunnel was awarded to local company Opway, value around EUR40 million, while the consortium Lena/Agroman secured the EUR28 million contract for the 10 km section from the tunnel to Vila Real. Click pt/30 for tunnelbuilder archive. Visit http://www.teixeiraduarte.pt/  and http://www.epos.pt/. 08/15.