To ensure that Augusta/Richmond County is in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended), a Phase I archeological survey was undertaken along the proposed St. Sebastian Way/Greene Street/Fifteenth Street/Riverwatch Parkway project. The proposed project will provide a new road (St. Sebastian Way) connecting Walton Way on the south with Riverwatch Parkway on the north. In addition, the project will extend Greene Street to Riverwatch Parkway. The survey determined that the majority of the area of potential effect (APE) is covered with asphalt parking lots and/or deep fill. Shovel testing was possible only along a 150 m (490 ft) portion of the project, which encountered early twentieth century fill to depths of over one meter below surface. Archival research indicates that the fill is in the general location of a raceway to Coleman's saw mill (9RI1085), one of the first mills constructed on the Augusta Canal. Although no archeological sites that are listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places were located by the survey, much of the APE could not be examined due to the amount of fill and surface covering. Therefore, we recommend that archeologists monitor the project during construction to ensure that no significant archeological resources will be affected.
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