Archeological Survey of Proposed Road Improvements to Barnett Shoals/Gaines School Road, Clarke County, Georgia

This report presents the results of an archeological survey that was conducted along a 1. 1 km (0.7 mi) length of the existing, four-lane Gaines School Road in south central Clarke County (Figure 1). The project consists of reconstructing the existing roadway to provide drainage improvements, improve intersections, provide median work and improve bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The project extends from Greencrest Drive to Cedar Shoals Drive, which is a very heavily developed corridor. The project includes the reconfiguration of the several intersections in the corridor, and will be coordinated with the improvement project at the intersection with Cedar Shoals Drive and Hillsman School, at the north end of the present project area. The proposed new rights-of-way and construction easements vary in width and have not been detailed on project maps, but mostly will be limited to existing right-of-way. The proposed project's area of potential effect was defined as the maximum aerial extent of project construction or easement, which was defined for this survey, to be about 9 m (30 ft) beyond the existing edge of roadway on both sides of the road. The survey was required in order for Clarke County to be in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended), which requires consideration of effects from federally funded or permitted projects on significant cultural resources. Federal funds are being used for the project. The goal of the survey was to locate, describe and evaluate the significance of any archeological sites in the area of potential effect. The survey included a background and literature review, an on-site visit on January 18, 1999 to determine if archeological resources were present, and preparation of this report. Field work included close inspection of all exposed ground surfaces for artifacts (there were no such areas), the excavation of exploratory shovel tests in areas with little to no surface exposure (no such tests were needed), and photographic documentation of the project area. No sites were encountered in the project area.

                The project area is heavily developed with large shopping centers, strip malls, individual businesses, residential complexes and a few single family houses at the south end. There is no undeveloped land in the project area. The least developed portion of the corridor is the 100-m long southern-most end, between Greencrest Drive and College Station Road, which has a few residences on the east side and the landscaped lawn of a State of Georgia Soil Laboratory on the other (Figure 2). The lawn of the Soil Lab has been graded, ditched for irrigation pipes and resodded several times over the past decade. North from College Station Road to Barnett Shoals Road is dense commercial development and one church that has completely obliterated the intact landscape (Figure 3). North of Barnett Shoals Road are individual buildings (bank, medical, church) and apartment complexes and small business parks (Figure 4). The northern terminus of the project area, at Cedar Shoals Drive, is composed of large shopping centers on the east side of Gaines School Road (Figure 5) and apartment complexes on the west side.