ALABASTER, Ala. (WIAT) – The possibility of a new housing development in Alabaster is raising questions from people in the community on how it will impact traffic in the city. The new development off Highway 119 has been in the works since 2020.

The city says Newcastle Homes wants to develop an area of land off Highway 119 near Ebenezer Swamp and Veterans Park with nearly 1,000 new homes. Because Highway 119 can already get congested, some people worry about what so many new homes will do to travel time.

“I really feel like it’s not going to be a good thing for traffic at all,” says Haydn Parks who travels to Alabaster from Vestavia almost every day.

Parks says traffic on Highway 119 is already similar to that of Highway 280 without the addition of hundreds of new houses.

“It’s great that there’s new development and there’s new subdivisions being built, more places to live, for the economy,” says Parks. “But for traffic, we were already talking about how so populated it is and that there’s only so many roads to go on.”

Some people think adding about 970 new homes is good for the city and its growth but that there are factors beyond traffic that should be considered.

The city of Alabaster says it’s working with ALDOT to widen Highway 119 in sections to help with traffic flow in the area.

“This development is going to have another mile-long road to take you from 119 all the way to Smokey Road on the other side,” says Brian Binzer, Alabaster city administrator. “So that’s going to have a real benefit to everybody in that area.”

The city says Newcastle Homes has now submitted the proposal to the Army Corps of Engineers for approval which could take up to a couple of months.