Phase I Archaeological Survey in Advance of the Bridge Replacement on CR 229/Valentine Industrial Parkway over I-85, Jackson County, Georgia

Edwards-Pitman, Inc. (EP) completed a Phase I archaeological survey for the County Road 229 (CR 229)/Valentine Industrial Parkway over Interstate 85 (I-85) bridge replacement project in Jackson County, Georgia (PI No. 0016523 and HP No. 210428-001). The survey was conducted in February 2021 and June 2021, and sought to identify archaeological sites in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and in accordance with the Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT’s) Environmental Procedures Manual (GDOT 2013) and Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists (GCPA) standards (GCPA 2019). The proposed project consists of the replacement of the CR 229/Valentine Industrial Parkway bridge over I-85 located just northwest of the city of Jefferson in Jackson County. It is expected that the existing bridge (Structure ID 157-0021-0) would be replaced on the existing alignment utilizing an off-site detour. The existing bridge consists of two 3.4 meter (m) (11 foot [ft]) wide travel lanes with a 0.6 m (2 ft) wide gutter and a 0.6 m (2 ft) wide raised concrete edge on each side. The proposed bridge would consist of two 3.7 m (12 ft) wide travel lanes with 2.4 m (8 ft) wide shoulders. The design for the proposed project is being developed concurrently with the environmental analysis, and additional details of the proposed bridge design are not yet known. The roadway typical section consists of two 3.7 m (12 ft) wide travel lanes with 1.8 m (6 ft) wide shoulders (1.2 m [4 ft] paved). Existing right-of-way (ROW) varies from 30.5 m (100 ft) to 45.7 m (150 ft). No required ROW is anticipated. The total project length is approximately 0.8 kilometer (km) (0.5 mile [mi]). Michael Baker International, Inc. provided an Environmental Survey Boundary (ESB) that encompasses all areas of permanent and temporary easement and all currently known and foreseeable ground disturbance. The ESB along CR 229 measures approximately 0.8 km (0.5 mi) in length and 152 m (498.7 ft) in width. The ESB along Hog Mountain Road measures approximately 60 m (196.9 ft) in length and 30 m (98.4 ft) in width, while the ESB along Concord Road measures approximately 32 m (105.0 ft) in length and 50 m (164.0 ft) in width. The total area of the ESB is 13.2 hectares (ha) (32.7 acres [ac]). When the design is complete, the project Area of Potential Effect (APE) will likely be smaller than the ESB. Hereinafter, the ESB will also be referred to as the survey area. The survey resulted in the identification of two new archaeological sites, 9JK338 and 9JK339, both entirely within the ESB. Site 9JK338 is a domestic farmstead house and midden formerly owned by J. F. Harrison, who, according to deed research, constructed the house after 1877. The house ceased to exist sometime between 1951 and 1955. As the site has limited integrity and lacks data sets that would provide significant information potential regarding farmsteads in Jackson County, 9JK338 is recommended as ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places ii Phase I Archaeological Survey in Advance of the Bridge Replacement on CR 229/Valentine Industrial Parkway over I-85, Jackson County, Georgia (NRHP) under Criterion D. Site 9JK339 is a former house dating from at least 1937 to the mid-to-late twentieth century. As the site has compromised integrity and lacks significant information, 9JK339 is recommended as ineligible for the NRHP under Criterion D. Since both sites were fully delineated, no environmentally sensitive area is required.