Second Addendum to the Phase I Survey for the Replacement of the Railroad Bridge over SR 41/US 27 Alternate, Meriwether County, Georgia

In August 2016, Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EPEI) conducted a second addendum Phase I archaeological survey for the replacement of CSX Railroad bridge over State Route (SR) 41/United States (US) 27 Alternate (Alt.) in Warm Springs, Meriwether County, Georgia (Georgia Department of Transportation [GDOT] Project STP-159-1(14), P.I. No. 321880, Historic Preservation Division [HPD] No. HP-070111-05). The original Phase I survey and the first addendum survey were conducted by EPEI in 2008 and 2011, respectively, both of which were conducted under contract with Parsons of Norcross, Georgia (Blackwelder 2011; Pietak 2008).

The proposed project would replace the existing CSX Railroad bridge over SR 41/US 27 Alt. The proposed project would construct a new bridge (93 feet long by 22 feet wide) to carry the CSX Railroad, as well as widen Juke Line Road to accommodate detoured traffic from SR 41/US 27 Alt. In April of 2008, EPEI reported negative findings for a previous survey of this project along SR 41/US 27 Alt. (Pietak 2008). In September 2011, design plans were modified to include a temporary easement route along Juke Line Road, and EPEI reported negative findings for the addendum survey of this project (Blackwelder 2011).

The changes include a temporary railroad detour on new alignment south of the existing railroad alignment to facilitate maintenance of railroad traffic during construction, as well as a small area consisting of a temporary easement just south of the intersection of SR 41/US27 Alt. and Juke Line Road. These areas of changes define the addition to the Area of Potential Effect (APE) for this second addendum survey. The APE for this second addendum survey is hereinafter referred to as the survey area.

One previously unknown archaeological resource was identified within the survey area. Located in the southeast quadrant of SR 41/US 27 Alt. and the CSX Railroad bridge intersection, 9MW91 is a twentieth century stone and mortar pier that was at one time associated with a nearby structure that no longer exists. Disturbance to the site has obliterated any evidence of the structure within the survey area, with the exception of the stone marker and mortar pier. The pier represents either a property boundary marker, or a driveway marker. The lack of artifacts and soil disturbances have compromised site integrity; therefore, the portion of the site that was investigated lacks significant data potential. Full delineation of 9MW91 was unable to be conducted due to the limits of the survey area; therefore, site 9MW91 is recommended as of unknown eligibility for the NRHP, with the portion of the site within the survey area lacking significant data potential.