ANTIQUITIES PERMIT APPLICATION FORM ARCHEOLOGY GENERAL INFORMATION I. PROPERTY TYPE AND LOCATION Project Name (and/or Site Trinomial) Intensive Archeological Survey for Proposed Ronald Reagan Extension Project, Williamson County, Texas County (ies) Williamson County USGS Quadrangle Name and Number Cobbs Cavern (3097-342), Georgetown (3097-313), Jarrell (3097-341), Weir (3097-314), Bartlett (3097-432), Granger (3097-423) UTM Coordinates (approximate) Zone 14 E 631018-649486 N 3405239-3403409 Location North-central Williamson County, between IH 35 and SH 95 near Bartlett, Williamson County, Texas Federal Involvement Yes No Name of Federal Agency Agency Representatives II. OWNER (OR CONTROLLING AGENCY) Controlling Agency Williamson County Representative Bill Gravell, Jr., County Judge Address 710 South Main Street, Suite 101 City/State/Zip Georgetown, Texas, 78626 Telephone (include area code) 512-943-1550 Email Address [email protected] III. PROJECT SPONSOR (IF DIFFERENT FROM OWNER) Sponsor Representative Address City/State/Zip Telephone (include area code) Email Address PROJECT INFORMATION I. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (ARCHEOLOGIST) Name John E. Dockall, PhD, RPA Affiliation Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting, Inc. Address 2401 Donley Drive., Ste. 400 City/State/Zip Austin, Texas 78757 Telephone (include area code) (512) 217-4790 Email Address [email protected] (OVER) ANTIQUITIES PERMIT APPLICATION FORM (CONTINUED) II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION Proposed Starting Date of Fieldwork August 9, 2021 Requested Permit Duration 5 Years 0 Months (1 year minimum) Scope of Work (Provided an Outline of Proposed Work) survey with shovel testing and backhoe trenching (see attached research design) III. CURATION & REPORT Temporary Curatorial or Laboratory Facility Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting, Inc. Permanent Curatorial Facility Center for Archeological Studies (CAS) at Texas State University IV. OWNER’S CERTIFICATION I, Bill Gravell, Jr. , as legal representative of the Owner, Williamson County , do certify that I have reviewed the plans and research design, and that no investigations will be performed prior to the issuance of a permit by the Texas Historical Commission. Furthermore, I understand that the Owner, Co-owner, and Principal Investigator are responsible for completing the terms of this permit. Signature Date V. SPONSOR’S CERTIFICATION I, , as legal representative of the Sponsor, , do certify that I have reviewed the plans and research design, and that no investigations will be performed prior to the issuance of a permit by the Texas Historical Commission. Furthermore, I understand that the Owner, Sponsor, and Principal Investigator are responsible for completing the terms of the permit. Signature Date VI. INVESTIGATOR’S CERTIFICATION I, John Dockall , as Principal Investigator employed by Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting, Inc. (Investigative Firm), do certify that I will execute this project according to the submitted plans and research design, and will not conduct any work prior to the issuance of a permit by the Texas Historical Commission. Furthermore, I understand that the Principal Investigator (and the Investigative Firm), as well as the Owner and Sponsor, are responsible for completing the terms of this permit. Signature Date May 6, 2021 Principal Investigator must attach a research design, a copy of the USGS quadrangle showing project boundaries, and any additional pertinent information. Curriculum vitae must be on file with the Division of Antiquities Protection. FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Reviewer Date Permit Issues Permit Number Permit Expiration Date Type of Permit Date Received for Data Entry Texas Historical Commission Archeology Division P.O. Box 12276, Austin, TX 78711-2276 Phone 512/463-6096 www.thc.state.tx.us ARCHEOLOGICAL INTENSIVE SURVEY SCOPE Ronald Reagan Extension Project, Williamson County, Texas Project Description The purpose of the investigation described in this document is to identify cultural resources within the construction footprint of proposed transportation improvements. Williamson County proposes the expansion of Ronald Reagan Boulevard between Interstate Highway (IH) 35 and State Highway (SH) 95. The proposed project is located within Williamson County, with the western terminus located near IH 35 just south of Jarrell, Texas. From IH 35 the proposed project crosses undeveloped land before paralleling Farm to Market (FM) 1105 for 1.16 miles (1.86 kilometers), veering south again until it parallels FM 972 for 2.65 miles (4.27 kilometers) before intersecting with SH 95. The entirety of the road expansion is approximately 12 miles (19.31 km) long (Figure 1). The purpose of the proposed project is to increase transportation mobility and safety within northeastern Williamson County to accommodate the area’s projected population and economic growth. The proposed facility would satisfy current roadway design standards, thereby improving vehicular safety while facilitating economic development within the region. The expansion will primarily cross through predominantly undeveloped or agricultural land. Between IH 35 and SH 95, existing county roads exist, but there is no east-west through facility. State Farm-to-Market roads exist within the proposed facility that may also be partially utilized for the Reagan Extension. The proposed right-of-way dimensions are unknown, but improvements will likely take place where the proposed facility intersects the following roadways: County Roads (CR) 145, 311, 355, 382, 388, FM 972, FM 1105, Sta (SH) 95, Rae Lane, and Rundberg Drive. The project corridor also intersects the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) paralleling SH 95. The proposed final project would include two-lane mainlanes in each direction and three-lane frontage roads in each direction. The anticipated right-of-way width is 350 feet but could be less at locations where constraints exist to minimize impacts to the natural, cultural, and human environment and more at interchanges with other facilities. This accounts for an ultimate freeway or expressway section that includes two 12-foot mainlanes in each direction with shoulders, three 12-foot frontage roads, and entrance and exit ramps for access. As needed, additional right- of-way will be required to account for detention and drainage facilities, mitigating floodplain impacts, and at intersections with other arterial or access-controlled corridors to accommodate the ultimate buildout footprint. A grade separation is also proposed at SH 95 and the UPRR crossing. The archeological area of potential effects (APE) is defined as the entire area of the maximal footprint for the project as designed, which covers approximately 532.12 acres. This project would largely be constructed on new right-of-way but also includes some areas of existing roadway right-of-way although the proportions are not known at this time. The typical depth of impacts from this project is unknown at this time, but deep impacts may extend beyond 1 meter (3.28 feet) below ground surface at the proposed stream crossings at Long Branch, Willis Creek, and Opossum Creek. The project is owned by Williamson County, a political subdivision of the State of Texas, rendering the project subject to the Antiquities Code of Texas. At present, Williamson County is the sole source of project funding. No federal funding or permitting has been identified for the project at this time; however, it is possible that federal funding could be identified at a later date, as the project could become subject to oversight by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), or the project may require United States Army Corps of Engineers permits related to Jurisdictional Waters of the U.S. Either of these circumstances would render the project subject to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (NHPA). 1 Background Information The APE ranges in elevation from 177 to 292 meters (581 to 961 feet) above mean sea level along the 12-mile proposed alignment in northeast Williamson County, Texas (Figure 2). The area is primarily surrounded by undeveloped or agricultural lands, but some areas of the APE are located near residential or infrastructure development. The APE crosses over two mapped drainages: Opossum Creek near the western edge of the proposed road extension and Willis Creek toward the center of the project area where the APE parallels FM 1105. Geologically the APE is underlain (west to east) by: Cretaceous-age Austin Chalk and Cretaceous-age Navarro and Taylor Groups (U.S. Geological Survey [USGS] 2021). Austin Chalk consists of interbeds and partings of calcareous clay, thin-bedded marl with interbeds of massive chalk, hard lime mudstone and soft chalk. Navarro and Taylor Groups, undivided consists of mostly silty calcareous clay with sandstone beds and concretionary masses, underlain by fine-grained quartz sand with concretions in discontinuous beds and marine megafossils. High gravel deposits are commonly composed of an upper silty clay unit, which is good for crop production and a lower coarse unit that yields some water; these deposits often contain caliche-cemented cobbles of chert as large as 5 inches in size, pebbles of variegated quartzite, limestone, chert, and quartz (USGS 2021). The project area is located within the Texas Blackland Prairies and the Northern Blackland Prairies Ecoregion (Griffith et al. 2004). The Texas Blackland Prairie is distinguished from surrounding regions by the dominance of fine-textured clayey soils and prairie adapted vegetation. A predominance