Phase I Archaeological Survey for the Proposed Bridge Replacement at SR 22/ US 80 Over Richland Creek, Talbot County, Georgia

Edwards-Pitman, Inc. (EP) has completed a Phase I archaeological survey for the proposed bridge replacement at State Route (SR) 22/United States Highway (US) 80 over Richland Creek (Structure [D 263-0007-0) in Talbot County, Georgia for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) (P. I. No. 0015565; H.P. No. 190506-035). EP's archaeological survey was completed in accordance with GDOT's Environmental Procedures Manual (EPM) (2013), the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Section I 06 of the national Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (1966, as amended through 2016) and its implementing regulations (36 CFR Part 800), and follows the standards set forth by the Georgia Standards and Guidelines for Archaeological Surveys (Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists [GCPA] 2019).

The project proposes to replace an existing bridge along existing alignment. Existing typical sections within the project area consist of a two-lane roadway with 3. 7-meter (m) (12-foot [ft]) lane widths on the bridge and 3.7 m (12 ft) lane widths on the roadway. The existing bridge is 27.4 m (90 ft) long and 8.2 m (26.8 ft) wide (consisting of 7.3 m [23.9 ft] of roadway with no shoulders).

The proposed typical section would consist of a two-lane roadway with 3.7 m (12 ft) lane widths on the bridge and 3. 7 m (12 ft) lane widths on the roadway. The proposed structure would be 36.6 m (l20 ft) long by l l.96 m (39.25 ft) wide (consisting of 3.7 m [ 12 ft] lanes and 1.8 m [6 ft] shoulders on each side). The net length of the project is approximately 0.7 kilometer (km) (0.4 miles [mi]).

The survey area for the proposed project includes all areas within an Environmental Survey Boundary (ESB) which was developed in consultation with Volkert. The ESB was designed to encompass all areas of possible/foreseeable ground disturbance as a result of the current project. The ESB length measures approximately 735 m (2 ,411.4 ft) east-west. Although the ESB tapers near its eastern and western termini. its average width stretches approximately 120 m (393.7 ft) north-south, for a total area of 7 .69 hectares (ha) (19 acres [ ac]). When design is complete, the project area of potential effect (APE) will likely be smaller than the ESB that is shown.

Prior to survey, EP conducted background research that included historic maps at the Georgia Archives, the Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF), and Georgia's Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources Geographic [information System (GNAHRGIS) database. Search results indicate that two previous archaeological surveys intersect the ESB (hereafter referred to as the survey area), and one previously identified archaeological resource, 9TA42, lies within a 1 km (0.62 mi) radius and within the current survey area. This site, which lies partially within the survey area, is of unknown eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and was revisited during this survey. EP's revisit investigations at 9TA42 yielded a total of three sherds of undecorated sand tempered pottery from three positive shovel tests within the previously-mapped extent of the site. This assemblage is small and non-diverse and only very broadly temporally diagnostic of the Early Woodland period or later.