On June 6, 2000 an archeological survey was conducted within the area of potential effect for a proposed reconstruction of the existing intersection of Abernathy Road and Glenridge Drive, in northern Fulton County. The existing intersection of two-laned Glenridge Drive and four-laned Abernathy Road will be widened and reconfigured to aid traffic flow, mainly by creating a right angled intersection. This will be accomplished by relocating a 275 m length of Glenridge Drive about 50 m to the west and adding new turning lanes on another section of the drive. The project requires the acquisition of a 275 m length of new right-of-way that will be about 20 to 24 m wide, and this was the focus of the present archeological investigation.
Archival research showed that no archeological or house sites occurred in the project area. Field inspection and the excavation of seven shovel tests failed to recover any evidence of prehistoric or historic sites in the project area. However, the project area does contain the bed of an older road that is almost certainly the course of Glenridge Drive as depicted on a 1895 map. The road was shifted to its current location sometime before 1938, as evidenced in an aerial photograph of that year. The proposed new route of the road actually closely follows the 1895 route. We recommend that this remnant of the road bed has no further research value and is not eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. No archeological sites exist within the proposed project's boundaries. Therefore, construction will not adversely impact any significant cultural resources and the project should be allowed to proceed.
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