Phase I Archaeological Survey of SR 347/Lanier Islands Parkway from Lake Lanier to McEver Road

New South Associates completed a Phase I Archaeological Survey of the widening and realignment of SR 347/Lanier Islands Parkway between October of 2012 and May of 2013 (Table 1). Survey of Project CSSTP-0007-00(319) (PI No. 0007319, HP# 120504-001) was conducted for Atkins Global and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). The project included pedestrian survey of the corridor and an intensive cemetery survey. The project's area of potential effect (APE) is located along SR 347 from Lake Lanier to McEver Road in Hall County, Georgia. The APE is 2.5 miles long and consists of an existing right-ofway (ROW) along portions of SR 347, McEver Road, and smaller intersecting feeder roads measuring from 24-104 feet wide, as well as a new alignment with a 70-foot wide ROW. The APE along SR 347 provides for two 12-foot wide travel lanes, a 14-foot wide center turn lane throughout the corridor, the addition of right turn lanes where necessary, curb and gutter on both sides of the roadway, a 10-foot wide multi-use path, and a five-foot wide sidewalk. The project was conducted in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (36 CFR 800) to determine the presence of significant archaeological resources in the project's APE. Phase I fieldwork was conducted according to the revised GDOT guidelines presented in the GDOT Environmental Procedures Manual (GDOT 2012). There were two transects placed on each side of the SR 347 corridor, one for the APE and one for the expanded survey corridor (ESC). Additional transects were positioned along roads intersecting with SR 347 including Holiday Point, Pass Drive, Rowe Drive, Lee Circle, Merritt Drive, Big Creek Road, New Bethany Road, North Waterworks Road, Beards Road, Holiday Road, and Lee Drive. Of the 438 shovel tests excavated, only one contained an artifact. The positive shovel test pit was associated with site 9HL593. Portions of the APE adjacent to the lake margin are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). An Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) Permit (No. DACW01-4-12-0085) was issued from the USACE Mobile District that permitted survey, but artifact collection on USACE property was not allowed; any recovered artifacts would have been returned to excavated test units after identification. While a portion of 9HL593 extended onto USACE property, no artifacts were recovered from the 67 shovel test pits excavated on USACE property. Four archaeological sites were identified within the ESC of the SR 347/Lanier Islands Parkway corridor. Two sites were discovered during Phase I pedestrian survey of the project corridor. These sites, 9HL593, a twentieth-century house site, and 9HL594, an agricultural retaining wall, were not explored outside the ESC boundary, so their eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under Criterion D remains unknown. The portions of 9HL593 and 9HL593 that were examined do not contribute to the sites' potential eligibility for the NRHP. Two sites, 9HL589 and 9HL595, were cemeteries associated with the Lanier Islands Community Church located at the intersection of SR 347 and Big Creek Road. Site 9HL589 was subjected to intensive archaeological survey as it intersected the project APE. It is recommended that the cemetery is not eligible for the NRHP under Criteria A, B, or C. Its status for the NRHP under Criterion D remains unknown. Avoidance is recommended for this cemetery. The second cemetery associated with the Lanier Islands Community Church is located in the project viewshed but not within the ESC – this cemetery was recorded as 9HL595. These cemeteries (Property 8) were also determined not eligible in the Historic Resources Survey Report for the project (Person 2013a).