Archaeological Survey Report for RS0-0944(6) Crisp, Worth, and Dougherty Counties, Georgia

RSO-0944(6) is the proposed 35.0 mile improvement and relocation of State Route 257 from Cordele to Albany, Georgia. The project has three sections: (1) widening of the existing two-lane facility to four lanes from north of Albany to south of Cordele - 24.45 miles; (2) construction of four-lane facility on new location from south of Cordele east to Interstate 75 - 6.44 miles; and (3) construction of two urban five-lane sections in Oakfield and Warwick - 4.31 miles. No additional right-of-way will be acquired for the urban sections. Up to 100 feet of additional right-of-way will be needed for the widening of the existing facility. The new location section will require 300 feet right-of-way. This project was, at one time, an interstate spur from 1-75 at Cordele to Albany, but funding was changed to an improvement and relocation of the state route as a result of environmental considerations and local opposition to the original scope of the project. Some opposition still exists among landowners affected by the new location section of the project and permission for survey was denied for a portion of that section. Present land use along the project study corridor is overwhelmingly agricultural, divided between pulpwood stands and cultivated fields (corn, soybean and peanuts). The urban sections were designed to avoid relocations in small communities; there are no large urban areas along the study corridor. The project lies entirely within the Dougherty Upland which has been characterized as having flat to very gently rolling topography, with karst topography prevailing (Clark and Zisu, 1976). The project crosses Pine Log creek and an unnamed drainage in Dougherty County; Mill, Abrams and Jones Creeks in Worth County; Swift (Lake Blackshear) and Cedar Creeks in Crisp County. There are numerous limesinks within the study corridor as can be seen on the aerial photography. The project study corridor is underlain by the Ocala and Suwannee Limestones (Herrick & Vorhis, 1963). So-called 'Limerock' boulders are common along the present right-of-way of S.R. 257. These boulders are the result of the unconsolidated nature of the limestone and the erosion of the upland at streams or by artificial alteration such as roadcuts. No boulders were noted in undisturbed areas of the project, thus it seems likely that the ones in the right-of-way are there due to road construction. The 'limerock' boulders contain chert nodules and the immediate areas around the boulders are often littered with chert debris.