The above referenced project consists of the realignment of SR 61 on new location over Southern Railroad. SR 61 would be shifted approximately 91.4 meters (300 feet) east of the existing bridge site, providing a replacement bridge crossing over Southern Railroad and SR 6 Spur, then tying into SR 278. The total length of the project would be approximately 0.8km (0 .5 mile). Following the initial field survey (random shovel tests and a metal detector survey), two historic markers along SR 6 Spur and a check of the Civil War Atlas indicated the existence of Federal and Confederate trenches in or near the project corridor. Due to the possibility of historic features, the project centerline and right-of- way were staked (the initial survey was by compass orientation). The second survey of the corridor included a more thorough surface examination and random shovel tests of the areas near where the trenches might be located. A third trip to the project area included an intense metal detector survey in areas near where the trenches might be encountered (based on Civil War Atlas map), however, no historic artifacts related to the Civil War or post-War were discovered. Most of the material (left in the field) discovered by metal detection consisted of metal artifacts related to the construction and maintenance of the railroad and nearby powerlines (insulated wires, steel carriage bolts, nuts and washers, wire cable, copper wire, iron spikes, iron carriage bolts, iron RR tie plates, etc.). Fragments of coal, asphalt, and gravel were also encountered in the metal detector tests. The surface examination, shovel tests and metal detector survey of the areas within and adjacent to the project corridor indicate the general project area has been severely disturbed by the construction of SR 6 Spur, SR 61, SR 6/US 278, the railroad, local development, and natural erosion. No indications - surface or subsurface - of features or artifacts that could be attributed to the Federal and Confederate trenches or post-War resources were observed. If the trenches still exist in the general area, they are not within the proposed right-of-way.
On a fourth trip to the project corridor, Rowe Bowen concurred with my conclusion that much of the area is disturbed; no intact archaeological deposits, features, or Civil War trenches exist within the project corridor.
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