Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Widening of SR 56 from Burke County Line to SR 23, Burke County, Georgia

In February 2015, Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EPEI) conducted a Phase I archaeological survey for the proposed road widening of a portion of State Route (SR) 56 in Burke County, Georgia (P.I. No. 0012574, GP No. 150224-001). This project is the widening of SR 56 from Richmond/Burke county line to SR 23, north of Waynesboro. The total project length is approximately 1.35 miles. The existing roadway consists of two, 12-foot travel lanes with no median and shoulder that varies from 8-foot (2-foot, paved, 6-foot grassed) to 10-foot (6-foot paved, 4-foot grassed). The posted speed is 55 miles per hour (mph). The right-of-way (ROW) width varies from 100 to 207 feet. The project would widen SR 56 to four 12-foot lanes with a 14-foot flushed median. The shoulders would be 8-foot in width (2-foot paved, 6-foot grassed). The posted speed would remain 55 mph while the ROW would vary from 132 to 220 feet in width.

The Area of Potential Effect (APE) for this survey area was defined prior to fieldwork as 140 feet from the edge of pavement (EOP) as the plans for the proposed project improvements were not finalized by the time of the survey, and it was estimated that all proposed improvements would fall within the 140-foot EOP distance. Once plans for the proposed improvements were finalized, the extent of the proposed improvements did fall within the 140-foot EOP distance, with one exception; supplementary survey was conducted to cover the additional area. In addition, a 100-foot expanded survey corridor (ESC) was added to each side of the corridor as stipulated by the Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT) Environmental Procedures Manual (GDOT 2013). The survey area for this project incorporates both the APE and the ESC.