Archaeological Survey for Proposed Widening of SR 11/US 129/Cleveland Highway from Limestone Road to South of Nopone Road, Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia

Terracon conducted a Phase I Archaeological Survey in preparation for the widening and realignment of SR 11/US 129 in Hall County in accordance with a contract from Keck & Wood and GDOT. A distance of approximately 8 km (5 miles) was surveyed adjacent to the existing SR 11/US 129 ROW on both sides of SR 11/US 129 and right-of-way (ROW) to be acquired for two major realignments. The proposed project would widen/reconstruct SR 11/US 129 from an existing two-lane rural highway to a four-lane highway with a 20-foot raised median with rural shoulders. The Longstreet Bridge over the Chattahoochee River and the Bells Mill Bridge over the East Fork Little River will be replaced as part of this project. The project Area of Potential Effect (APE) was determined based on client-supplied aerial overlays. The APE consists of the existing ROW of SR 11/US 129 which extended 16 m (50 feet) in both directions from the centerline. The APE was further comprised of additional ROW that is to be acquired for two major realignments. The eastern realignment begins north of Hilltop Road where the APE widens to approximately 32 m (100 feet) east of centerline to accommodate the acquisition of new ROW for a proposed new Bells Mill Bridge. This alignment continues as a swath of new ROW approximately 175 m (500 feet) wide from Hilltop Road where it crosses the Bells Mill Bridge and extends a total of 1,700 m (5,500 feet) to a point north of Donna Drive where it intersects the existing ROW of SR 11/US 129. The western realignment is also a swath of new ROW approximately 175 m (500 feet) wide that starts at the end of the eastern alignment at SR 11/US 129 and extends approximately 2,500 m (8,400 feet) to the point where the southern portion of Loggins Road joins SR 11/US 129. The purpose of this survey was to locate archaeological resources within the APE and to make recommendations concerning their eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). No archaeological resource eligible for the NRNP would be affected by the proposed project and no further archaeological testing is recommended within the project APE.