Archeological Survey of the Old US 78 Connector Street Project from Britt Drive to Highpoint Road and Highpoint Road to the Old US 78/Walton Ct. Relocation, Gwinnett County, Georgia

From October 2013 to January 2014, Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. conducted a Phase I archeological survey of the area of potential effect for the proposed extension of the Northside Collector highway located just west of Snellville in southern Gwinnett County. The project corridor is about 0.8 km (0.5 mi) long and extends from Britt Drive eastward onto a remnant section of old U.S. Highway 78. It roughly parallels today's U.S. Highway 78 on its north side. The proposed highway will consist of two lanes with an area of potential effect usually about 18 m (60 ft) wide. Short sections of required easement extend the area of potential effect to as much as 30m (100ft) in total width. The proposed highway intersects Highpoint Road near its midpoint, and this will be configured as a round-about type of intersection. Fu accordance with Georgia Department of Transportation procedures, the area archeologically surveyed included the maximum width of the area of potential effect plus a 30-m (100-ft) buffer on either side. This resulted in an expanded survey corridor about 781 m (2,563 ft) long by about 78 m (256 ft) wide, with some minor additional area at the intersection with Highpoint Road.

Archival research showed that no previously recorded archeological sites occur in or near the project corridor, but that two houses older than 50 years once existed within the corridor. The expanded survey corridor was plotted onto enlarged USGS topographic maps and the entire project area was field investigated with visual inspection and the systematic excavation of shovel tests on 30-m intervals along three transects spaced 30 m apart. Because much of the central portion of the project corridor and some other areas have been heavily disturbed for recent development, not all prescribed shovel tests were excavated.

Based on surface inspection and the excavation of shovel tests, we discovered and recorded one archeological site, a twentieth century house site designated as 9GW642. This site was investigated with a complete grid of shovel tests on a 10-m interval. The site centers on a ca. 1986 standing house that was built directly behind an older house, of which there is no visible trace. Our testing revealed a disturbed yard area and mid- to late twentieth century artifacts.

We recommend that the portion of site 9GW642 investigated does not contribute to the eligibility of the site for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, because of loss of integrity and for lack of research potential (National Register criterion d). The site also has no known connection to persons or events important in local or state history (criteria a and b) and has no extant architecture (criterion c).

Thus, we conclude that the proposed construction of this section of the Northside Connector will not affect significant archeological resources and that no further archeological work is needed.