Life on the Lehi Terrace: The Archeology of the Red Mountain Freeway Between State Route 87 and Gilbert Road, Appendix A

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is in the process of extending the Red Mountain Freeway (Loop 202) through Mesa, Arizona from State Route (SR) 87 to US Highway 60 (US 60, Superstition Freeway). The undertaking entails the construction of 17.8 mi (28.6 km) of new limited access six-lane freeway parallel to and south of the Salt River. Under contract to Entranco Engineering, Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd.(ACS) performed initial survey of the proposed alternatives (Macnider et al. 1999). Based on the results of the survey and archival research, under contract to Aztec Engineering (Aztec), ACS conducted intensive archaeological testing, significance evaluations, and data recovery within the portion of freeway right-of-way between SR 87 (Country Club Drive) and Gilbert Road. The proposed route runs through an area of dense historic and prehistoric cultural resources west of Higley Road, and crosses the northern edge of the Lehi Historic District between Mesa Drive and Stapley Road (Gasser 1987a; Jackman and Macnider 2000; Macnider et al. 1999). This report is the culmination of a multi-year effort to identify, evaluate, record, and interpret historic and prehistoric cultural remains within a 6.6-km (4.1-mi) section of the Red Mountain Freeway right-of-way. It presents the results of eligibility testing and data recovery at eight sites. The report also summarizes the results of the canal locating program, geoarchaeological investigations, and limited testing within the Lehi Historic District. The dataset includes the table for historic artifacts covered in Appendix A.