Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Westside Trail from Lionel Hampton Trail to Northside Drive

New South Associates conducted a Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Westside Trail [GDOT Project No. PI 0010645] on October 2 and November 7, 2013. The proposed project is a multipurpose trail that will begin at the intersection of Lena Street and Booker Street in the City of Atlanta, where an existing trail ends. It will consist of a 10- to 12-foot wide concrete path and will proceed in a generally east direction toward the Georgia Dome, ending at Northside Drive for a total length of 0.96 miles. The trail will be complemented by landscape improvements including the planting of trees. There will be no lane or parking reconfiguration or modifications as a part of this project. The area of potential effect (APE) for the current archaeological survey is defined as a 50-foot wide corridor consisting of existing right-of-way (ROW) and required easements along approximately 0.96 miles of roadway between the Ashby and the Vine City Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Rail Stations. The work for this survey was conducted in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (36 CFR 800), and was intended to determine the presence of significant archaeological resources in the project's APE. Because of urban development within the area, the Expanded Survey Corridor (ESC) was not required by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).

The APE was examined by a systematic pedestrian survey that included the examination of all exposed surfaces and the investigation of shovel test pit locations at a 100-foot interval along a single transect within the APE. When previously recorded sites were encountered in the APE, shovel tests were placed at 15-meter intervals and a metal detector survey was conducted.

No artifacts were identified as a result of the survey. However, three previously identified historic sites are within the APE. Sites 9FU80, 9FU81, and 9FU85 are Civil War-era sites associated with the Federal Atlanta Campaign. These sites were originally identified by Bowen and Carnes (Bowen and Carnes 1977) and were heavily impacted during the construction of the east/west MARTA Rail Lines. These sites were recommended not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) at the time of their identification and the present survey confirmed this recommendation. Therefore, no further work is necessary to satisfy Section 106 requirements and the planned undertaking may proceed.