Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Northwest I-75/I-575 Corridor Alternatives

Parsons Brinekerhdff (PD) plans to construct high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, truck-only lanes, bus rapid transit (BRT) stations, and park-and-ride facilities to serve the I-75 and I-575 corridors. The study area is located northwest of downtown Atlanta, Georgia. I-75 extends to the northwest from downtown Atlanta in Fulton County. Within the study area, I-575 branches from I-75 and extends to the northeast. The highway corridor encompasses Smyrna, Marietta, Kennesaw, and Acworth and several unincorporated communities in Cobb and Cherokee counties. The majority of the study areas arcs are within the existing. I-75 and I-575 right-of-way, which was previously surveyed by RSWA (Jordan and Bloom 2003). However, several of the present proposed study areas extend beyond the existing right-of-way. Area of Potential Effect: For this survey, additional right-of-way and off-corridor sites related to the BRT option deemed to be in the APE but not included in the 2003 survey report (Jordan and Bloom 2003) were surveyed and documented. Survey includes existing right-of-way and proposed variable-width right-of-way in the southwest quadrant of I-75's interchange with Bells Ferry Road in Cobb County. Off-corridor sites include park-and-ride lots, all located in Cobb County: East West Connector, Austell, Piedmont, Johnson Ferry, and Acworth (see attachments for location). A bus maintenance facility is proposed in the Town Center area, and a combined park-and-ride and bus maintenance facility is proposed on SR 120 Loop. Bus transfer facility improvements are proposed for the MARTA Arts Center Station in Atlanta. All of these sites, except the Acworth site, were surveyed; the Acworth site is an existing park-and-ride facility, and no improvements are proposed at this site.