SPANISH FORT, Ala. (WKRG) – Residents along Highway 31 in Spanish Fort are distraught after construction crews built a concrete median separating eastbound and westbound traffic in front of their homes.

Drivers near the Dollar General store on Stagecoach Road and Highway 31 will now have to descend a little further on the road to reduce their trip, depending on their direction of travel. Residents of a nearby mobile home park say they are concerned that first responders are reaching them in a timely manner.

“They have to get up here if there’s a lot of traffic and turn around and come back and go to the trailer park,” said one resident.

The Alabama Department of Transportation tells us that a 4-lane, mid-divide highway is the safest design when you consider the overall traffic volume and what is projected in the years to come.

“It provides a physical separation of opposing traffic flows which would reduce the possibility of accidents, thereby improving the safety characteristics of the corridor,” ALDOT said in a statement released Thursday.

But, these residents think if something from these medians is a safety concern and they aren’t worried about it, something could happen, but say it’s just a matter of when.

“If something happens it will take another 10 to 15 minutes to get help and that’s a life,” said Donna Johnson.

Companies in the same industry have expressed concerns about concrete medians in recent months, but ALDOT has no plans to change their design at this time.

“Prior to construction of the US-31 Widening Project, the City of Spanish Fort hired Skipper Consulting to conduct a traffic operations study to produce the safest and most efficient design for the corridor. ALDOT has agreed to incorporate elements of this study into the plans for the US enlargement project 31 ”, ALDOT added.