Article Title

Intensive Archeological Survey For Proposed Runway Improvements And Extension Of Anetta Drive, City Of Midland, Midland County, Texas

Authors

Chris Dayton
Melissa M. Green

Agency

Texas Historical Commission

Abstract

In April 2015, an intensive archeological survey was completed in order to inventory and evaluate archeological resources within the footprint of proposed improvements on the east side of Midland International Air & Space Port in the City of Midland, Midland County, Texas. The proposed construction would include the extension of a runway, the construction of a paved apron, various taxiway extensions and rehabilitations, and the extension of Anetta Drive across private property (to be transferred to the City of Midland) from State Loop (SL) 250 to Business Interstate Highway (IH) 20 on the west side of Midland. The airport improvements would occur within an area encompassing approximately 96.4 acres (ac) or 39 hectares (ha), and the roadway extension would cover approximately 48.6 ac or 19.6 ha (with an assumed 30-meter or 100-foot right-of-way), for a total archeological area of potential effects (APE) of 145 ac or 58.6 ha. The work was carried out for the Midland International Air & Space Port under Texas Antiquities Permit 7222 by Chris Dayton and Melissa Green (Principal Investigator) of Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting, Inc. (CMEC), a subcontractor to Mead & Hunt.

Ground surfaces within the APE were highly visible (between 60 and 100 percent). The APE has been subjected to extensive previous disturbance, including decades of airfield-related clearing and grading as well as oilfield development that has recently intensified, with new caliche roads, water and oil pipelines, well pads, and support facilities along the linear portion of the APE. Twenty-two shovel test units were excavated where disturbance appeared minimal and/or ground visibility decreased. None of the units yielded subsurface materials, nor were materials of archeological interest found during pedestrian examination of the APE. Based on the lack of finds and the extent of previous disturbance, no further work is recommended.

No materials were collected; therefore, this project generated no archeological materials to be curated. Notes, forms, and other project data will be made permanently available to future researchers at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL) at the University of Texas at Austin per TAC 26.16 and 26.17.

The Texas Historical Commission (THC) concurred with the findings and recommendations of this report on July 9, 2015.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License