There is a 400-year-old live oak tree that will soon serve as a centerpiece of a exit loop off Ga. 204 onto King George Boulevard.
The sprawling tree, with an 88-inch diameter, is one of 11 live oaks dating back at least 200 years in the woods behind the Parker’s convenience store that will be left standing when a $25 million intersection improvement project begins next year.
Three other live oaks will be brought down to make way for the ramp and utilities.
Pamela Baughman, an archeologist with GDOT, said she is typically focused on things buried beneath the ground. However, the centuries old trees were recognized as being part of the historic landscape and worth preserving, Baughman said.
Officials from the Georgia Department of Transportation showed off the trees Monday, while also discussing the findings discovered during an archeological dig there.
Artifacts discovered at the site date back to the late-1700s and include remnants of slave quarters and a Civil War encampment. Those artifacts are now being stored and will eventually be cleaned and catalogued for viewing, said Rita Elliott, a public archaeologist with New South Associates.
Elliot said that it was a good thing that GDOT acquired the property, rather than a private developer, which would not have had to conduct the archeological study or preserve the live oaks.
“We have a living connection, as well as the material connection,” Elliot said.
The road project will elevate Ga. 204 over King George and remove the traffic light there in order to improve traffic flow, which gets bogged down when commuters are heading to and from work. Loop ramps will be constructed on the northwest, where the live oaks are located, and southeast quadrants of the intersection.
Former Rep. Ann Purcell of Rincon, who now serves on the State Transportation Board, said that the congestion has gotten worse as more people move out to the area.
“Traffic flow is a key problem on Ga. 204,” she said.
The project is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2014 and take between 2.5 to 3 years to complete at an estimated cost of $25 million, said Robert Murphy, the GDOT project manager.
“It also alleviates rear-end crashes at this intersection,” Murphy said.