An Intensive Archaeological Survey of Proposed Improvements to Newtown Road, Gordon County, Georgia

Southeastern Archeological Services conducted an intensive archeological survey of the proposed widening of Newtown Road, in Gordon County, Georgia. The existing varying-width two-lane roadway would be upgraded to two, 3.6 m lanes with an urban curb and gutter section from S.R. 156 (Red Bud Road) easterly to Warrior Path, and a rural section with 2.4 m graded shoulders from Warrior Path easterly to Newtown Loop Road. Included in the project is the redesign of the intersection with S.R. 156, including an intersection tie-in across from Barrett Road to provide left- and right-turn lanes to and from both Newtown Road and Barrett Road. The new intersection with S.R. 156 will be relocated approximately 91 m (300 ft) east of its present location to tie into S.R. 156 with a "T" intersection directly across from Barrett Road. Approximately 305 m (1000 ft) of Barrett Road would be upgraded to provide standard lane widths and the added turn lanes. The total length of the project is 3.12 km (1.94 mi). The area of potential effect consists of the maximum extent of new right-of-way or construction easement, whichever is greater. Given that the existing and proposed rights-of-way are highly variable, the area of potential effect is variable in width. However, in general, only a few meters of width will be added to Newtown Road. The survey resulted in the identification of four previously unreported archeological sites (9GO207, 9GO208, 9GO209, and 9GO210) and one artifact occurrence. All of the sites, as well as the artifact occurrence, consist of historic artifact scatters in the yards of abandoned or occupied homes. One site (9GO210) also includes an isolated prehistoric artifact (a Ridge and Valley chert core). All four sites and the artifact occurrence are recommended ineligible to the National Register due to the sparsity of the deposits and/or the degree of disturbance from road grading and development. Thus, the proposed road construction will have no adverse effect to any significant archeological resources.