Archeological Survey of Revised Plans for Two Interchange Improvements on I-75, Crisp County, Georgia

Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. (SAS) conducted a Phase I archeological survey of variously shaped and sized parcels of land at five bridges and two existing interchanges on Interstate Highway 75 in Crisp and Turner Counties in 2005 (Gresham 2005). In early 2007, design plans had changed at two of the intersections, one a bridge (Intersection 3 at Musselwhite Road) and one an interchange (Intersection 2 at Rockhouse Road). This report presents the results of a survey SAS conducted in March of 2007 for the revised areas of potential effect at these two intersections. One aspect of the planning and design process, required by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, is to locate archeological sites in the proposed area of potential effect, assess each site's significance in terms of its eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and finally assess project effects to those sites determined eligible to the National Register. The revised areas of potential effect were delineated on large scale aerial photo project maps. These were compared to the original aerial photo maps that SAS used in 2005 to determine the new area that required survey. Archival research showed that no archeological sites or historic house sites were known for the new project area. The survey resulted in the discovery and recording of three sites (Table 1). All three are sparse prehistoric lithic scatters restricted to the surface and plowzone. We recommend that none of the sites are eligible to the National Register because none have the ability to yield important information through more work. The 2005 survey of the original areas of potential effect for all seven intersections failed to detect any significant (eligible) archeological resources within the areas of potential effect. Thus, in regard to archeological resources, the project as revised and currently planned will not affect significant archeological resources and should be granted clearance to proceed.