PRAIRIEVILLE- A new development that's being built off Highway 73 in Ascension Parish is bringing with it concerns over flooding and traffic.

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Delaune Estates is nearing the construction phase. The roads are all paved, and it appears workers could start building homes any day now. Plans show the subdivision that sits between Airline Highway and I-10 will feature more than 200 homes starting from around $320,000 and going up to $500,000.

Denise Mabile has lived in the Longwood subdivision for 14 years. It's adjacent to the new subdivision, and her house backs up to it. She said that she's concerned about the implications of having a large subdivision with roads that can barely handle the traffic volume now.

"I don't commute, but my husband and daughters do, and they leave an hour before school to skip traffic," Mabile said. "Otherwise you're sitting on Highway 73 for a long time."

Drainage is also an issue. Her backyard now has a three foot tall embankment where the new houses will be built. She said flooding is her biggest concern.

Aggie Canales is a Realtor. She said concerns are always valid when it comes to drainage. A home she has listed just went under contract that backs up to the new subdivision, but her buyers were not worried about it.

"You have to look into it and see what kind of drainage what they've put in and accounted for and plan accordingly," Canales said.

She said the explosion of growth and the push for new families to continue coming to Ascension shows the draw the area pulls.

"I chose to live in Ascension Parish," Canales said. "Great people, a lot of opportunity, the school system is fantastic. There are a lot of established subdivisions that are wonderful places to move and inventory is still on the low side in the market."

For Mabile, it goes beyond just building.

"We don't have forward thinking," Mabile said. "We aren't building infrastructure and thinking through it. From a traffic study, they did it during Covid when there weren't as many cars on the road and there was a mix of children in and out."