PRAIRIEVILLE - The newest high school in Ascension Parish is well on its way to opening in the fall of 2024, but some residents are concerned whether the surrounding roads will be able to handle hundreds of new drivers. 

Prairieville High School is under construction at the corner of Parker Road and LA 929. Eddie Campbell, who has lived on Parker Road for decades, says the narrow, two-lane streets have already been widened once.

"When we moved here in '94, it was a road that was just above a gravel road. Couple of two or three years later, Ascension Parish came in and widened it," Campbell said. 

Campbell has a front row seat to the construction of the new school, and the traffic that will come with it.

He says, traffic is already bad during the mornings and afternoons from Prairieville Primary. The new high school will neighbor the lower-grade school.

"It's pretty, pretty heavy. At times, the traffic will back up to my neighbor's house here because they're trying to get in," he explained.

He also says a new connecting road will be added between the two schools, which could impede the option to widen the already existing road. 

A new roundabout is planned for the corner of 929 and Parker, to hopefully keep traffic flowing during the school year. According to the Ascension Parish government, crews will begin building the roundabout at the end of next week.

"I would think in the beginning, the traffic is going to be fairly heavy. Once they get the roundabout squared away, that'll help," Campbell said.

Regardless of the loud construction and possibility of heavier traffic outside of his front door, Campbell says he won't be turned away from the place he calls home. 

"We're not going anywhere, we're here to stay. We love Ascension Parish," Campbell said.