The biggest development in the history of Espírito Santo is about to arrive in Palhal, in the municipality of Linhares, Espírito Santo. However, for unfathomable reasons, construction has been suspended indefinitely and the residents of the rural area are forced to seek answers to the uncertainty that has arisen. Will the development really come? When will it come? How big are the changes we should expect? The solutions that the actors seek to these questions are the focus of this work, which seeks to understand the process of constructing meaning about the expected event. The aim was to recognise that the foundation and circulation of new meanings - the social imaginary, therefore - has a very concrete dimension, evidenced by the immediate transformations in the lives of the residents of Palhal, as well as updating conflicts and forming alliances based on the expectation of what is to come, with the imminent arrival of the project as a constant reference for the new configurations of local relations.