Georgia Department of Transportation Bridge Replacement Project STP-00MS(142), Various Counties

On July 8, 1996, fifty-nine bridge replacement requests were sent to Brockington and Associates for a cultural resources survey. The purposes of these surveys were to determine if NRHP eligible cultural resources are present and, if so, to ensure that they will not be negatively impacted by the proposed bridge replacement.

All the bridge replacement requests had the same impact area to be surveyed. This area consisted of 200' wide by 300' long area on each side of the proposed bridge (see attached). For surveying purposes the impact area was divided into four quadrants: northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest (each quadrant was related to it's proximity to the creek/river and the road). Each quadrant contained three shovel tests at thirty meter intervals. A thorough inspection was conducted of all exposed surfaces as a basic technique to cover the proposed impact area. When a positive test was encountered shovel tests were placed at ten to fifteen meter intervals around the positive test within the corridor to explore the cultural remains. When possible, testing around positive shovel tests went beyond the corridor to determine site boundaries.

Of the fifty-nine bridge replacements, six had sites within the impact area. Five of these sites had significant cultural/archaeological resources that prevented clearance. It is important to note that if clearance is denied it only applies to the quadrant or quadrants in which the site was found. In some cases the bridges can be moved to avoid impacting a site, however, additional surveying would be recommended to explore a new corridor. Five isolated finds were located and determined to contain insignificant cultural/archaeological resources. Furthermore, the remains of six old bridges were found within the corridor impact area. The significance of these bridges is not known, further investigation is needed.