Edwards-Pitman, Inc. (EP) conducted a Phase I archaeological survey in advance of the proposed bridge replacement (Structure ID 261-5034-0) located on County Road (CR) 313/Salters Mill Road over Pessell Creek in Sumter County, Georgia for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) (Pl No. 0015640). EP's archaeological survey was completed in accordance with GDOT's Environmental Procedures Manual (EPM) (2013), the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office· (SH PO), Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (1966, as amended through 2016) and its implementing regulations (36 CFR Part 800), and follows the standards set forth by the Georgia Standards and Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations (Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists [GCPA] 2019).
The project proposes to replace the bridge (Structure ID 261-5034-0) on CR 313/Salters Mill Road over Pessell Creek, approximately 4.5 kilometers (km) (2.8 miles [mi]) south of the city of Plains, Georgia. CR 313/Salters Mill Road is a two-lane minor collector surrounded mostly by undeveloped woodlands and farmland . The existing 33.5-meter (m) (110-foot [ft]) long bridge is composed of steel, timber, and concrete and has a deck width of 9.2 m (30.3 ft) with two 3 m (10 ft) lanes. The existing right-of-way (ROW) is approximately 21.3 m (70 ft) in width.
The proposed project will construct a 36.6 m (120 ft) long bridge with one 3.4 m (11 ft) lane in each direction. The bridge approaches will consist of one 3.4 m (11 ft) lane in each direction with rural shoulder.
The bridge will be raised 1.2 m (4 ft) above the existing roadway surface to provide adequate clearance over the 100-year flood elevation. The proposed ROW is expected to be approximately 45. 7 m (150 ft) in width. The project is approximately 0.6 km (0.4 mi) long. An off-site detour is anticipated.
The survey area for the proposed project includes all areas within an Environmental Survey Boundary (ESB). The ESB was designed to encompass all areas of possible/foreseeable ground disturbance as a result of the current project. The ESB measures approximately 473 m (1 ,552 ft) in length and 122 m (400 ft) in width and encompasses approximately 5.75 hectares (ha) (14.2 acres [ac]). When design is complete, the project Area of Potential Effect (APE) will likely be smaller than the ESB that is shown.
A review of the Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF), and Georgia's Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources Geographic Information System (GNAHRGIS) online database indicates that there are no previously recorded archaeological sites within a 1 km (0.62 mi) radius of the ESB. In addition, there is only one previous archaeological survey that intersects the ESB. EP's Phase I survey resulted in the discovery of three new resources (9SU270, 9SU271 , and 9SU272) within the ESB.
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