Addendum to Cultural Resources Survey of the Proposed Widening of SR 4/US 1, Wadley Bypass to State Route 88, Jefferson County, Georgia

On October 29 through November 14, 2013, Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EPEI) conducted an addendum Phase I archaeological survey for the proposed widening of State Route (SR) 4/United States (US) 1 from Wadley Bypass to SR 88 in Jefferson County, Georgia (Georgia Department of Transportation [GDOT] Project Nos. EDS00-0545-00 [29], [30], [31], [32]; P.I. Nos. 222120, 222150, 222160, 222170; and HP No. 980401-001). Additional survey was conducted in May 2014 for a survey design change to avoid potentially eligible archaeological site 9JF344. For the purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the projects are being analyzed as one aggregate unit. The survey area was originally surveyed in 1999 by archaeologists from R.S. Webb & Associates, and the results presented in Cultural Resources Survey of the Proposed Widening of SR 4/US 1 Wadley Bypass to State Route 88, Jefferson County, Georgia (Keith 1999). Although the original report is termed a cultural resources survey, it only covered archaeological resources and did not include historic structures. The current addendum survey also only deals with archaeological resources.The addendum was undertaken to address project design changes made since 1999. The addendum area of potential effect (APE) consists of additional survey areas for the widening project that were not covered by the original 1999 survey. An extended survey corridor (ESC) was not conducted for this project because the original survey was conducted prior to the adoption of the ESC to archaeological surveys for GDOT, and for that reason this project has been grandfathered in to the 1999 survey requirements. The proposed projects would widen and reconstruct SR 4/US 1 in Jefferson County, Georgia. The proposed alignment would begin just south of the intersection of SR 4/US 1 and SR 4 Business, north of the Town of Wadley (Wadley Bypass), and travel north to terminate at the intersection of SR 4/US 1 and SR 88 in Wrens, Georgia. The total length of the projects is approximately 21.8 miles. In addition to widening SR 4/US 1 from two lanes to four lanes, the project would redesign or realign some of the side roads in order to adhere to established GDOT project design criteria and guidelines, and to improve intersection angles. The existing right-of-way (ROW) along SR 4/US 1 varies from approximately 130 feet in width to approximately 200 feet. The proposed ROW would vary between approximately 130 feet and approximately 250 feet for the length of the project. The project design was changed to avoid 9JF344, recorded during the 2013 survey. The curve and associated intersection were moved closer to the current intersection of Nimrod Road and SR 4, which added approximately 1.15 acres of new required ROW to the project. A review of the Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF) and Georgia's Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources Geographic Information System (GNAHRGIS) database found that there have been 23 archaeological sites previously recorded within 1 kilometer of the survey area, of which 18 were identified during the original 1999 survey (Keith 1999) for the SR 4/US 1 widening project. None of these sites are within the survey areas visited during the current addendum study. Twelve projects have been previously conducted that have portions within or immediately adjacent to the SR 4/US 1 survey area, including the survey (Keith 1999) for which this report is an addendum. The previously recorded sites and previous surveys are discussed in detail in Chapter II of this report. The additional Phase I survey for the SR 4/US 1 widening project resulted in the identification of two new archaeological sites, 9JF343 and 9JF344, and one isolated find (IF). In addition to the archaeological resources, EPEI also recorded two historic cemeteries, 9JF341 and 9JF342, that are within the viewshed of the project, but located outside the APE. In accordance with GDOT guidelines, site forms for the cemeteries are included in Appendix A of this report. Site 9JF343 is a Historic period structure location found on a ridge top on the north side of the City of Louisville, approximately 60 meters southwest of the intersection of Walnut Street and SR4/US 1. Archaeological investigations at 9JF343 identified push piles associated with a structural location. Aerial photograph research confirms the presence of a structure in the lot, but it appears the structure was southeast of the project limits. No artifacts were identified during shovel testing at 9JF343. The portion of 9JF343 in the survey area is recommended as non-contributing to National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility under Criterion D. Because the site cannot be conclusively delineated to the southeast beyond the project boundary, the overall eligibility recommendation for 9JF343 is unknown. No further work is recommended for 9JF343. EPEI recommends that an environmentally sensitive area (ESA) be established at the site to protect potential deposits that may lie beyond the APE. Orange barrier fencing should be erected along the ESA boundary prior to the initiation of construction activities. Site 9JF344 is a Late Archaic period lithic scatter situated on a ridge end south of the city of Louisville. The site is located along Old US 1 approximately 230 meters west of the current alignment of SR 4/US 1. The assemblage from 9JF344 consists of 92 Coastal Plain chert lithics recovered from nine positive tests. The assemblage consists of 85 pieces of debitage, six utilized flakes and one Late Archaic stemmed projectile point/knife (PP/K). A majority of the artifacts, including the diagnostic PP/K, recovered during shovel testing, were found below the disturbed plowzone, suggesting that intact deposits remain at the site. Based on the potential for intact deposits to remain, the portion of 9JF344 in the survey area has the potential to yield information significant to the precontact culture history of the region. For these reasons, the portion of 9JF344 in the survey area is recommended as potentially eligible for the NRHP under Criterion D. The site cannot be conclusively delineated beyond the project boundary to the northwest, northeast, and southwest, and the archaeological potential of those areas is unknown. Avoidance of 9JF344 within the survey area is recommended. A change to the project design, which moved the curve for the Nimrod Road/SR 4 intersection further south along Nimrod Road was made to avoid impacts to 9JF344. Survey of the avoidance area was conducted in May 2014, and no archaeological resources were identified in the newly designed area. If the design changes in the future to again include portions of the site, then Phase II testing is recommended to further assess the NRHP status of 9JF344. IF 1 is located on a ridge in an area of new location in rural Jefferson County between Louisville and Wrens. IF 1 consists of a single piece of undecorated whiteware recovered from a shovel test. Based on the data available, IF 1 is of limited research potential and does not meet established criteria for a site. No further work is recommended at this locale.