Phase I Archaeological Resources of the CR 479/ Belmont Road Bridge Replacement over Shoal Creek, Clarke County, Georgia

In April of 2019, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB), Inc. completed a Phase I archaeological survey in support of the Georgia Department of Transportation's (GDOT) proposed bridge replacement along County Road (CR) 479/Belmont Road (Rd) over Shoal Creek in Clarke County, Georgia, approximately 7 miles (mi) (11 kilometers [km]) south of the city of Winterville. The bridge (Bridge ID No. 059-004-0) is part of GDOT's Local Bridge Replacement Program (LOCBR) which has been developed to reduce overall costs and construction time in the replacement of locally-owned posted bridges (GDOT 2018). The existing bridge on CR 479/Belmont Rd over Shoal Creek was built in 1968 and has been targeted for replacement due to the age of the structure, an unknown pile tip evaluation, its failure to meet current design standards, and the scour critical condition of the bridge.

The Area of Potential Effects (APE) for the current survey has been defined as the total length and width of the Environmental Survey Boundary (ESB). The dimensions of the ESB are determined by the designers prior to the survey fieldwork and are intended to capture a large enough area within which variation in project design can occur. The ESB measures approximately 2,110 feet (ft) (643 meters [m]) in length by 400 ft (122 m) in width, for a total of 19 acres (ac) (7.7 hectares [ha]). The existing right of way (ROW) along the roadway is 80 ft (24 m), with a proposed ROW of 150 ft (45.7 m). As the limits of the ESB cover all possible design alternatives, no Expanded Survey Corridor (ESC) is required.

Prior to the start of fieldwork, a review of the Georgia's Natural, Archaeological, and Historical Resources Geographic Information System (GNAHRGIS) and the Georgia Archaeological Site Files (GASF) databases was completed. These sources revealed no previously recorded archaeological sites or archaeological surveys intersecting with the current project ESB or located within an expanded 1-km search radius extending from the edge of the ESB.

Shovel testing and visual inspection of the ESB took place along four parallel transects within the project ESB; two transects were located along either side of CR 479/Belmont Rd. During the course of the survey, 95 shovel tests were excavated within the ESB with one shovel test recorded as "No Dig" due to its location within the creek bed. No excavated shovel tests were positive for cultural material; however, the pedestrian survey along Transect C identified two above ground features in the form of a pair of concrete bridge abutments within the ESB, which were recorded as Site FS-1 and later assigned the GASF trinomial 9CA233.