Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Redmond Trail Project, Floyd County, Georgia

The proposed project will consist of a 1.5 mile long multi-use trail with two bridges over Little Dry Creek: Bridge 1 is near the confluence of Little Dry Creek with the Oostanaula River, near the southern terminus and Bridge 2 is within Tolbert Park near the northern terminus. The trail will connect the Summerville Park residential neighborhood with an existing trail on the north side of the Oostanaula River that extends into downtown Rome. The trail will consist of newly constructed, paved, off-road trail, and on-road facilities that will utilize existing paved roadway and sidewalk. From its southern terminus, the trail will cross the floodplain of the Oostanaula River, continue west along the south side of the U.S. Post Office property, cross Martha Berry Boulevard at a signalized intersection, follow an existing sidewalk on the west side of Martha Berry Boulevard (with widening and other improvement), share the road with portions of Colonial Drive (Cilanco Street), Little Dry Creek Road, and Timothy Avenue; cross Tolbert Park, and share a portion of Wesley Drive. Martha Berry Boulevard is a federal highway (U.S. 27 /SR 1 ); Colonial Drive, Little Dry Creek Road, Timothy Avenue, and Wesley Drive are local streets. It is not anticipated that additional right-of-way (ROW) will be required for the on-street portions. Easements will be required for the southernmost portion of the trail where it passes under a Norfolk Southern railroad ridge, and where it crosses private property south and east of the U.S. Post Office property. The northernmost .67 miles of the trail will cross both private and public land, and easements or acquisition will be required only on the privately owned segments. Directional and cautionary signage and rumble strips to separate the sidewalk section from the vehicular traffic on Martha Berry Boulevard will be included in the project. A portion of the trail will be on relatively steep slopes and will require construction of a retaining wall in order to introduce a more gentle grade for the trail. Additional engineering will investigate the need for the wall further.