Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EPEI), under a contract with Jacobs Engineering, conducted a Phase I archaeological survey for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) project to widen and improve State Route (SR) 5 from just north of the intersection of SR 5 and Old Flowers Road, continuing northward across the Ocoee River into Copperhill, Tennessee (P.I. No. 620490). The survey sought to identify archaeological sites in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and Georgia Environmental Policy Act (GEPA), Georgia Code OCGA 12-16-2(3). The fieldwork was conducted in November 2016 and November through December 2017. The proposed project would improve SR 5, widening travel lanes and shoulders with additional gutters and curbs installed as the project enters the city of McCaysville, Georgia. Near the existing intersection of SR 5 and School Street, a new corridor truck route is proposed that would bypass the downtown areas of both McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee. The new location roadway would lie west of the cities, crossing over the Ocoee River and creating a loop roadway in Tennessee that enters/egresses onto Tennessee (TN) SR 68/Ocoee Street. One cultural resource, 40PK656 the Copperhill Plant site, was encountered within the new location roadway in Tennessee.
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