Third Addendum to the Phase I Archaeological Survey Of The Proposed Villa Rica Bypass, Carroll County, Georgia

Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EPEI) has completed fieldwork for the third addendum to the archaeological survey for the proposed Villa Rica Bypass project in Carroll County. The original survey for this project was conducted by Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. (SAS) in May of 2000. The project was put on hold due to the discovery of a goldmine, site 9CL306. Additional fieldwork was completed by SAS in March of 2005, and a final report was prepared containing the data from the 2000 and 2005 field efforts (Braley 2005). A second addendum survey was conducted by EPEI in July of 2010 (Silliman 2010). EPEI was contracted by Keck & Wood, Inc. (KNW) to locate and evaluate archaeological resources within the area of potential effect (APE). The APE for EPEI’s archaeological survey for this third addendum includes the project limits, and required road right-of-way (ROW) that were not covered during earlier project surveys.

Originally described in 2000, the proposed project would begin at the north end of Industrial Boulevard (SR 101) in the city of Villa Rica, Georgia and traverses in an easterly direction on new location intersecting McCurdy Road and Herrell Road. East of Herrell Road, the alignment turns south crossing Dallas Highway (SR 61) approximately 800 feet east of Punkintown Road. Approximately 1,700 feet south of Dallas Highway, the alignment converges with Punkintown Road, then traverses south parallel to Punkintown Road, ending south of Shoreline Drive, just west of the Carroll County Line. The total project length was approximately 2.5 miles.

Updated in 2017, the proposed project, STP00-0018-01(067), would consist of a bypass that would begin on Industrial Boulevard approximately 2,600 feet south of Rockmart Road. From the Industrial Boulevard and Rockmart Road intersection, the project would proceed on new location in an easterly direction connecting to Dallas Highway, creating a new intersection approximately 800 feet east of the existing Punkintown Road intersection. The proposed project would also include .51 mile of improvements to Rockmart Road beginning approximately 1,000 feet south of Industrial Boulevard and ending at a realignment of Harlan Lane. The project includes .36 mile of improvements to Dallas Highway beginning at Herrell Road and ending approximately 200 feet east of Stockmar Road. The project length would be approximately 1.93 miles. The typical section of the proposed bypass would consist of two 12-foot travel lanes with turn lanes where necessary and 10-foot rural shoulders to be built within approximately 150 to 250 feet of ROW. The proposed project would include roundabouts at the intersection of the new location roadway with SR 101/Industrial Boulevard/Rockmart Road and at the intersection of the new location roadway with Dallas Highway.

Changes made to the project plans since the last survey was conducted includes the removal of the eastern portion of the bypass (P.I. No. 662540) from Dallas Highway to Punkintown Road south of Shoreline Parkway. The eastern portion of the bypass is not advancing to the ROW acquisition ii Third Addendum to the Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Villa Rica Bypass, Carroll County, Georgia phase or to construction at this time. Project limits to the west were extended by approximately 400 feet on Rockmart Road to tie into existing pavement and to allow for construction staging. The beginning of the project is now approximately 2,600 feet south of Rockmart Road on Industrial Boulevard. Roundabouts are now proposed at the intersection of the new location roadway with Industrial Boulevard and Rockmart Road and at the intersection of the new location roadway with Dallas Highway. The length of improvements on Rockmart Road has been revised to .45 mile to adjust the approaches to the proposed roundabout at the Industrial Boulevard intersection. The maximum proposed ROW width in the design has not changed, though the description has been corrected to indicate the maximum proposed ROW width would be approximately 250 feet. The western limit on Dallas Highway was shifted to the east of Punkintown Road because improvements at the Punkintown Road intersection would no longer be included as part of the project.

Based on EPEI’s survey results, no new archaeological sites were identified or additional information gathered during the third addendum archaeological survey for the proposed Villa Rica Bypass project. One previously recorded site, 9CL340, was partially investigated. The portion of site 9CL340 within the survey area lacks significant data potential as no artifacts were recovered; however, the overall eligibility of the site for listing on the NRHP under Criterion D remains unknown.