Archeological Survey of the Proposed Widening of the Portion of Old Alabama Road from Roswell City Limits to Jones Bridge Road, Fulton County, Georgia

In August 1997 Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. conducted an intensive archeological survey of a 3.3 km (2.0 mi) long corridor for the proposed widening of a portion of Old Alabama Road in northern Fulton County, Georgia. The survey was requested by Fulton County in anticipation of receiving Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) funds for the project. For projects it funds, the DOT requires consideration of potential effects to cultural resources in accordance with Federal Highway Administration standards. Standing structures were evaluated in a separate report. Therefore the present survey dealt with only archeological resources. The project consists of the widening of the existing, two-lane roadway to a four-lane divided highway with a ca. 6.1 m (20 ft) median. Precise plans have not yet been formulated, but all construction (the area of potential effect) will occur in a 37 m (120 ft) wide right-of-way centered on the existing centerline of Old Alabama Road. A large portion of the project area has been heavily disturbed by grading and landscaping associated with several shopping centers and housing developments that occur on both sides of the road. Combining archival research (mainly the use of old maps and 1938 aerial photographs) with field survey (visual inspection of exposed ground surfaces and shovel testing of obscured ground surfaces) our survey recorded four archeological sites and two artifact occurrences. None of the sites are likely to yield significant, new information about the history of the region. None are associated with events or persons significant in our past. Therefore, we recommend that these cultural resources are not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic. It is the conclusion of the principal investigator that no significant archeological resources will be adversely affected by the proposed undertaking.