ADDENDUM TO THE PHASE I ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY FOR THE US 82 BU/SR 520 BU PROPOSED BRIDGE REPLACEMENT OVER THE FLINT RIVER WITH UNDERWATER INVESTIGATIONS, CITY OF ALBANY, DOUGHERTY COUNTY, GEORGIA

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is proposing to replace the current Oglethorpe Boulevard/US 82 Bridge (US 82 Bridge) over the Flint River in Albany, Georgia (Figure 1). SEARCH assisted GDOT with its obligations under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) by conducting an archaeological investigation prior to construction activities. This investigation is part of an overall effort to provide archaeological survey coverage for an overall Project Survey Area referred to as the Environmental Survey Boundary (ESB). The ESB includes both submerged lands within the Flint River and terrestrial components along the river’s banks. The ESB includes all areas that could be impacted by replacement of the US 82 Bridge and encompassed an area large enough to allow for variations in project design. A terrestrial survey was previously conducted by Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EP) (Trudeau 2019). The underwater ESB was developed by SEARCH in consultation with the GDOT archaeologist and has been defined as a 91-meter (m) (300-foot [ft]) swath upriver and downriver of the US 82 Bridge centerline. The approximate width of the underwater ESB is the high-water level of the river at the time of survey, which was approximately 90 m (300 ft). SEARCH completed a marine remote-sensing survey and subsequent shallow water snorkel investigation of the underwater ESB to identify the presence/absence of potentially significant submerged cultural resources within the ESB that could be adversely affected by proposed project activities.

SEARCH’s portion of the fieldwork investigation took place on November 4-12, 2019 and followed methodology guidelines established by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division (Archaeological Assessment Report Guidelines and Components) and the current edition of the GDOT Environmental Procedures Manual (EPM). In addition to remote sensing, scientific snorkeling and wading within the river, SEARCH conducted pedestrian survey along the riverbanks with specific attention paid to identifying potential precontact cultural deposits that may be present in the underwater ESB. No subsurface testing was conducted as part of SEARCH’s field effort. SEARCH identified three previously unrecorded sites within the ESB. Resource 9DU382 (Eastbank Scatter), 9DU383 (Westbank Scatter) and 9DU381 (Southbank Scatter) sites were recorded as multicomponent sites each consisting of a precontact lithic and a nineteenth-century artifact scatter.

In order to delineate and assess the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility of the sites, additional fieldwork was conducted by Edwards Pitman (EP) on June 23, 2020. The additional fieldwork addendum was conducted to supplement the underwater survey and provided subsurface data for the three sites previously identified by SEARCH. The follow up work consisted of shovel test delineation to document the extents of the three previously recorded archaeological sites. Eighteen total shovel tests were excavated, all of which were negative for cultural material. A further five were not excavated as they were located within the Flint River. The results of EP’s additional work are documented in this report. As a result of this investigation, SEARCH recommends archaeological sites 9DU381 and 9DU383 lack significant data potential within the project survey area. Both sites have been impacted by erosion and flooding and the artifacts are out of primary context. The NRHP Eligibility of both sites is unknown because they could not be completely delineated due to the project survey area limits. Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) should be established to protect unknown deposits that may exist beyond the project survey area.

EP’s supplemental fieldwork delineated the boundaries of 9DU382 and established that no subsurface deposits were associated with the site. Based on the results of supplemental fieldwork, SEARCH concludes that 9DU382 likely represents a secondary deposit of artifacts and lacks integrity of location, design, and setting. Due to its redeposited nature, the site lacks significant data potential for future research. Therefore, SEARCH recommends that 9DU382 is ineligible for inclusion in the NRHP. No additional work is recommended in this area.