Edwards-Pitman, Inc. (EP) conducted a Phase I archaeological survey in advance of a proposed bridge replacement (Structure ID 249-0009-0) located on County Road (CR) 133/Ebenezer Road over Muckalee Creek in Schley County, Georgia for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) (Pl No. 0015601). EP's archaeological survey was completed in accordance with GDOT's Environmental Procedures Manual (EPM) (2013), the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Section 106 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 in the Georgia Standards and Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations (Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists [GCPA] 2019).
The proposed project would consist of the replacement of GDOT Bridge 249-0009-0 on CR 133/ Ebenezer Road over Muckalee Creek in Schley County. The existing bridge was built in 1969 and is an eleven-span, 53.6-meters (m) (176-foot [ft]) long structure over Muckalee Creek. It is composed of timber and concrete and has a deck width of 7.6 m (25 ft) with two 3.6 m (11.85 ft) lanes and steel rails along both sides. CR 133/Ebenezer Road is a two-lane, 7.3 m (24 ft) wide rural major collector road. The project is located approximately 2.1 kilometers (km) (7.5 miles [mil) west of the City of Ellaville. The proposed replacement bridge would be 60.8 m (200 ft) long and would consist of one 3. 7 m (12 ft) lane in each direction with 0.6 m (2 ft) shoulders. The bridge approaches would consist of one 3.7 m (12 ft) lane in each direction and 2.4 m (8 ft) rural shoulders, with 1.2 m (4 ft) being paved. The replacement bridge will be raised minimally to promote positive drainage. The existing right-of-way (ROW) width is approximately 24.4 m (80 ft), and the proposed ROW will remain the same. The use of an off-site detour is anticipated.
The survey area for the proposed project includes all areas within an Environmental Survey Boundary (ESB) that was provided to EP by Jacobs International. The ESB was designed to encompass all areas of possible/foreseeable ground disturbance as a result of the current project. The ESB measures approximately 480 m (1 ,575 ft) in length and 120 m (393 ft) to 245 m (804 ft) in width and encompasses approximately 6.7 hectares (ha) (16.6 acres [ac]). When design is complete, the project Area of Potential Effect (APE) will likely be smaller than the ESB that is shown.
A review of the Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF), and Georgia's Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources Geographic Information System (GNAHRGIS) online database indicates that there are no previously recorded archaeological sites within a 1 km (0.62 mi) radius of the ESB. EP's Phase I survey resulted in the discovery of one new archaeological resource within the ESB, site 9SH28. This site is a Woodland and/or Mississippi period ceramic and lithic scatter. In addition, there is only one previous archaeological survey that intersects the ESB.
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