ADDENDUM PHASE I ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY FOR THE SR 38/US 84 BRIDGE REPLACEMENT (STRUCTURE ID 299-0013-0) OVER THE SATILLA RIVER, WARE AND PIERCE COUNTIES, GEORGIA

Edwards-Pitman, Inc. (EP) conducted an addendum Phase I archaeological survey of the proposed bridge replacement (Structure ID 299-0013-0) located on State Route (SR) 38/United States Highway (US) 84 over the Satilla River in Ware County, Georgia for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) (PI No. 0013605). EP’s archaeological survey was completed in accordance with GDOT’s Environmental Procedures Manual (EPM) (2013), the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), 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 addendum Phase I survey was conducted on September 30, 2020.

The proposed project would consist of the replacement of GDOT Bridge 299-0013-0 on SR 38/US 84 (Plant Avenue Extension) over the Satilla River between Ware and Pierce counties. The proposed bridge replacement would consist of two 12-foot (ft) (3.6-meter [m]) lanes in each direction with 8-ft (2.4-m) rural shoulders and one 14-ft (4.3-m) center turn lane. The roadway approaches would consist of five-lane sections with 10-ft (3-m) rural shoulders, 6.5 ft (2 m) of which would be paved. The bridge would be constructed on existing alignment in two stages. The existing right-of-way (ROW) is approximately 200 ft (61 m). The proposed ROW is approximately 0.30 acre (ac) (0.12 hectare [ha]) to accommodate rip rap. The temporary easement for the project is 0.90 ac (0.36 ha).

The original project was surveyed by EP in 2018, resulting in negative findings (Chieffo and Pietak 2018). Since that time the project has been adjusted, adding another bridge replacement to the project and thus extending the project length to accommodate the additional bridge. The permanent easement on the project is 2.6 ac (1.05 ha). The new project length is approximately 0.88-mile (mi) (1.43-kilometer [km]) with a 55 miles per hour (mph) (88.5 km per hour) design and posted speeds. 

Due to design and scope changes following the original survey for this project (Chieffo and Pietak 2018), the limits of the project were extended southward to encompass the additional bridge replacement, resulting in a revised Environmental Survey Boundary (ESB). This revised ESB was designed to capture any potential ground disturbing activities resulting from the project extension. The revised ESB measures approximately 1.43 km (0.88 mi) long and varies in width from 96.5 m (316.5 ft) at the southwestern end to 129 m (423 ft) at the northeastern end. The revised ESB encompasses approximately 17 ha (42 ac). The addendum survey area is that portion of the revised ESB that extends beyond the limits of the previous survey coverage (Chieffo and Pietak ii Addendum Phase I Archaeological Survey for the SR 38/US 84 Bridge Replacement (Structure ID 299-0013-0) over the Satilla River, Ware and Pierce Counties, Georgia 2018). The addendum survey area measures 357 m (1,172 ft) long and 96.5 m (316.5 ft) wide, encompassing an area of 3.48 ha (8.6 ac).

A review of the Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF), and Georgia’s Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources Geographic Information System (GNAHRGIS) online database indicated that four previously recorded archaeological sites are within a 1 km (0.62 mi) radius of the addendum survey area, one of which is within the limits of the addendum survey area (9WE118). In addition, there were two previous archaeological surveys that intersect, or are adjacent to, the addendum survey area.

EP’s addendum Phase I survey resulted in the revisit to site 9WE118, a historic cemetery called the Red Hill Cemetery. Site 9WE118 is a historic African American cemetery dating from at least the late nineteenth century to the 1960s. The cemetery was first recorded as a site in 2016 by the RIVERS Foundation, a non-profit organization in Waycross created to reduce the health, educational, and economic disparities of the community (RIVERS Foundation n.d.). The current investigation of the cemetery was limited to the northwest boundary of the site due to the limits of the survey boundary, closest to Screven Avenue. The addendum Phase I survey expanded the site boundary slightly in this area in order to encompass potentially unmarked burials. The cemetery was not fully delineated by this survey and as such it remains with an unknown National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility. EP recommends that the cemetery be established as an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) and that orange barrier fencing (OBF) be installed along the APE to protect it from any inadvertent impacts from construction efforts.