During the first half of the 20th century, one of the larger engineering projects carried out on the island of São Miguel was the construction of two tunnels (referred locally as the "Tuneis de Liberidade") that linked Furnas to the southern village. The first tunnel was inaugurated in 1935, while the second occurred four years later. This marked the end of the community's isolation from the rest of the island; until this time, the village could only be accessed by dirt road, horse or cattle-carts (approximately 360 years since its founding). These project was part of a plan for greater economic and social development in the region, resulting in the re-qualification and improvements to roadlinks, and the expansion of the fishing port (which was completed in the middle of the century).