As part of the site development program at the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) James D. Mason Intermodal Facility in Savannah, an overpass bridge spanning proposed rail improvements at the facility has been proposed. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has indicated that an Environmental Assessment (EA), consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), will be required for the overpass at the subject site. A Phase I cultural resource survey is a required component of the NEPA mandated environmental assessment.
With the exception of the westernmost 1400ft (430m) of the project corridor, the entire project area was the focus of a cultural resource survey conducted in 1997 as part of the overall site development program at the James D. Mason Intermodal Facility. R. S. Webb & Associates conducted the 1997 survey. Additionally, Southeastern Archaeological Services, Inc. under contract for the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), conducted an intensive cultural resource survey that included the project area in 1994. Data gathered by these surveys has been extrapolated and incorporated into the current survey at the request of the GPA. The survey conducted by R. S. Webb & Associates identified two cultural resources, neither of which will be impacted by the project.
Inspection of exposed ground surfaces, profiling of specific drainage ditches, and landscape scanning for standing structures was conducted in the project area. No evidence of cultural resources was identified.
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