Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Briarwood Road Bridge Replacement, DeKalb County, Georgia

In March 2001, Brockington and Associates, Inc., conducted Phase I archaeological survey of the proposed Briarwood Road Bridge Replacement in DeKalb County, Georgia (Project No. BRZLB-89[6]; P.I. No. 771170; HP #010404-008). This survey was conducted for Arcadis Geraghty and Miller, Inc., by personnel qualified under 36 CFR Part 61 (Appendix A) in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and 36 CFR Part 800. DeKalb County proposes to replace the existing bridge at Briarwood Road over North Fork Peachtree Creek. Included in the bridge replacement are bicycle lanes (1.2 meters [4 ft] wide) and sidewalks (1.5 meters [5 ft] wide). The project corridor is approximately 550 meters (1,804 ft) long and up to 40 meters (131 ft) wide. The width of the corridor expands to its widest at the location of the proposed bridge replacement: The corridor decreases in width as it moves away from the proposed bridge replacement. The project area extends approximately 275 meters (902 ft) northwest and southeast of the Briarwood bridge at North Fork Peachtree Creek. To the southeast, the project corridor ends approximately 30 meters (100 ft) from the intersection of Briarwood Road and the I-85 West access road. To the northwest, the corridor ends at the rear entrance to the Northeast Plaza Shopping Center. The project Area of Potential Effect (APE) for archaeological resources is defined as the total project corridor length (550 metes [1,804 ft]), following the existing Briarwood Road and bridge rights-of-way and extending no more than 15 meters (49 ft) on both sides of the road. These investigations followed procedures defined in the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Plan Development Process, and comply with the requirements of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division. Project activities included historical background research, archaeological field survey, and evaluation of potential archaeological resources within the project corridor. Historic resources located in or near the project corridor are addressed in a separate report (Reynolds 2001). Background research identified no previously recorded archaeological sites within the project corridor or sites were located within a 0.8 km (0.5 mi) radius of the project corridor. The archaeological field survey identified no unrecorded archaeological sites. Based on results of these investigations, the proposed Briarwood Road Bridge Replacement will not affect significant archaeological resources. No additional archaeological investigations are recommended.