Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Asbury Church Road Bridge Replacement over Clear Creek, Wilkinson County, Georgia

In March of 2020, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB), Inc. completed a Phase I archaeological survey in support of the Georgia Department of Transportation's (GDOT) proposed bridge replacement along Asbury Church Road (Rd) over Clear Creek in Wilkinson County, Georgia, within Gordon city limits. The bridge (Bridge ID No. 319-0038-0) is part of GDOT's Low Impact Bridge Program (LIBP), which has been developed to reduce overall costs and construction time in the replacement of bridges which do not require ROW adjustments and may be replaced along existing alignments if possible (GDOT 2018). The existing bridge on Asbury Church Rd over Clear Creek was built in 1970 and has been targeted for replacement due to the age of the structure and several relatively minor structural defects with the bridge deck and supports.

As a result of the current status of concept development, an Environmental Survey Boundary (ESB) was surveyed. The dimensions of the ESB were determined in accordance with the LIBP manual prior to the survey fieldwork and are intended to capture a large enough area within which variation in project design can occur. The proposed width of the project ESB is 1 SO ft (45.72 m) in total, or 75 ft (22.86 m) from either side of the centerline of Asbury Church Rd. The proposed length of the project ESB extends 500 ft (152.4 m) from the ends of the existing bridge structure in either direction along Asbury Church Rd for a total length of approximately 1,111 ft (338.6 m). The project ESB encompasses approximately 3.8 acres (ac) (1.5 hectares [ha]). The existing ROW along this section of Asbury Church Road is approximately 100 ft (30 m) total, or 50 ft (15 m) on either side of the current road centerline.

Prior to the start of fieldwork, a review of the Georgia's Natural, Archaeological, and Historical Resources Geographic Information System (GNAHRGIS) and the Georgia Archaeological Site Files (GASF) databases was completed. These sources revealed no previously recorded archaeological sites or archaeological surveys intersecting with the current project ESB or located within an expanded 1-km search radius extending from the edge of the ESB.

Site 9WK140 is an undiagnostic and undifferentiated precontact lithic scatter consisting of four Coastal Plain chert flakes recovered from a single shovel test. As a precontact lithic scatter, Site 9WK140 was evaluated for National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility under Criterion D. It is located on a ridge-nose in the northwestern corner of the project ESB.