Intensive Archaeological Field Survey of the Reedy Creek Bridge Replacement, Wayne County, Georgia

A two-person crew of New South Associates, Inc. conducted a survey of the Reedy Creek Bridge replacement on June 6, 2002. The bridge is located on SR 203 (Figure I), between Baxley and Jesup (i.e., roughly 19.5 kilometers, or 12 miles, west of Jesup and 30.4 kilometers, or 19 miles, from Baxley), in western Wayne County, Georgia - just a little over 2 kilometers (1.35-mi) from the county line between Wayne and Appling Counties. The survey involved surface inspections and shovel test excavations of both sides of the bridge, with the intent of locating archaeological artifacts and features.

                The proposed bridge alignment is slightly south of the current bridge. According to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) plan of the proposed bridge replacement, the proposed right-of-way would be straighter than the current one that has a slight curve. The resulting area of new alignment therefore includes a new right-of-way, about 30 meters (100-ft) wide, to the south of the existing SR 203 right-of way that stretches for about 450 meters (lS00-ft) on either side of Reedy Creek. Archaeological survey of the area of potential effect (APE) found it to consist entirely of low-lying swamp land, unlikely to contain archaeological remains. The area was visually surveyed where possible, as were nearby plowed fields. These fields, while outside the APE, might help evaluate the archaeological potential of the area. A small area of relatively high ground within the APE was evaluated with systematic shovel testing but no artifacts were recovered and no further work within the proposed right of- way for the bridge replacement is recommended.

                The report is divided into four sections including this introduction. Section II discusses the environmental and archaeological setting of the project area, Section III describes the survey methodology, and Section IV presents the project results and discusses recommendations. The resume of the principal investigator is included as Appendix A.