GDOT Archaeological Short Form for Negative Findings: Phase I Archaeological Survey, Low Impact Bridge Program, Bridge 119-5047-0, Akins Bridge Road over North Fork Broad River, Franklin County

This survey is a part of the GDOT Low Impact Bridge Program (LIBP). The 1 00-foot expanded archaeology survey corridor on typical GDOT projects will be waived in some instances, given that projects in the Program are not intended to extend beyond existing ROW. This consideration will be determined based on available design information and consultation with Office of Bridges and Structures. Field data will be assessed to ensure that the entire survey area has been surveyed. For the purpose of the field survey, generally 300 feet from existing structure approaches will serve as the longitudinal survey limits. After the delineation and classification of all resources is complete, this information will be provided to the Design Engineer for placement on the plans. Bridge 119-5047-0 is located along Akins Bridge Road, spanning the North Fork Broad River. The bridge was built in 1960, is structurally insufficient, and will be replaced. The bridge is located approximately five miles southwest of Eastanollee, Franklin County, Georgia (Attachment 1). Design plans for the new project were not yet available at the time of the archaeological survey. The existing right-of-way (ROW) measures 18 meters (60ft.) from the center line. The bridge measures 36.5 meters (119.8 ft.) in length. No temporary bridges or roadways are proposed for this project.

The APE for this project includes the footprint in which construction will take place. The guidelines in the LIBP Manual state that for projects included in the program, the APE is to extend 91 meters (300 ft.) from each end of the existing bridges along the roadway resulting in a total APE length of 218.5 meters (716.9 ft.). The width of the APE is the width of the existing ROW on either side of the bridge. The requirement for an Extended Survey Corridor (ESC) was waived.

                No previously recorded archaeological sites were located within one kilometer (0.6 mi.) of the APE. No previous surveys were conducted within one kilometer (0.6 mi.) of the APE.