Phase I Archaeological Survey in Advance of a Proposed Roundabout at the Intersection of SR 22/US Highway 80/Eisenhower Parkway and CR 740/Fulton Mill Road, Macon-Bibb County, Georgia

Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EPEI), under a contract with ARCADIS U.S., Inc., conducted a Phase I archaeological survey for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) project to construct a roundabout at the intersection of State Route (SR) 22/United States (US) Highway 80 (Hwy 80)/Eisenhower Parkway and County Road (CR) 740/Fulton Mill Road in Macon-Bibb County, Georgia in December 2018, and February and June 2019 (GDOT P.I. No. 0013332, HP No. 180914-001). This survey was conducted in three separate fieldwork efforts and sought to identify archaeological sites in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).

The project is located approximately 8 kilometers (km) (5 miles [mi]) west-southwest of the Macon city limits. The proposed project consists of converting SR 22 at Fulton Mill Road from an unsignalized intersection into a single lane roundabout. SR 22/US 80/Eisenhower Parkway is currently a four-lane (two lanes in each direction) divided rural minor arterial that runs east-west. The eastbound intersection approach of SR 22 currently has two 39 m (12 ft) wide through lanes and one 39 m (12 ft) wide right turn lane. The westbound approach of SR 22 currently has one 39 m (12 ft) wide left turn lane, two 39 m (12 ft) wide through lanes, and one 39 m (12 ft) wide right turn lane. Fulton Mill Road is currently a two-lane road (one lane in each direction) that is classified as a rural minor arterial north of SR 22, and a rural major collector south of SR 22. The existing right-of-way (ROW) on SR 22 and Fulton Mill Road varies from 76 m (250 ft) to 91 m (300 ft) and 18 m (60 ft) to 110 ft (34 ft), respectively. The proposed project roundabout would include pedestrian crosswalks and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ramps.

A minor amount of ROW would be required from each quadrant in the intersection and is as follows: the northwest quadrant would require approximately 0.2 hectare (ha) (0.45 acre [ac]) of additional ROW, the northeast quadrant would require approximately 0.008 ha (0.02 ac) of additional ROW, the southwest quadrant would require approximately 0.002 ha (0.005 ac) of additional ROW, and the southeast quadrant would require approximately 0.13 ha (0.31 ac) of additional ROW. The proposed project length is approximately 1.4 km (0.87 mi) extending in an east-west direction along SR 22, and approximately 0.6 km (0.4 mi) extending in a southwest-northeast direction along CR 740.

The survey boundaries were provided by Arcadis U.S., Inc. and represent an environmental survey boundary (ESB), which encompasses all areas of currently known and foreseeable ground disturbance. The ESB along SR 22 measures approximately 1,375 m (4,511 ft) and varies in width from 98 to 130 m (322 to 427 ft), while the ESB along Fulton Mill Road measures approximately 400 m (1,312 ft) long and varies in width from 20 to 35 m (66 to 115 ft). This survey area evolved over the course of three survey efforts. Now that the project plans have been developed, the project’s area of potential effect (APE) is an irregularly shaped area, measuring approximately 1,220 m (4,003 ft) long and ranging in width from 80 m (263 ft) to 32 m (105 ft) along SR 22, and measuring approximately 388 m (1,273 ft) long and ranging in width from 65 m (213 ft) to 30 m (98 ft) along CR 740. Based on currently available plans, the APE falls completely within the ESB that has been surveyed.

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 portions of two sites, 9BI165 and 9BI167, and three surveys extend into the ESB. Site 9BI165 represents a precontact ceramic and lithic scatter, in addition to a historic house site, while 9BI167 represents a small lithic scatter and a number of razed house sites located along a former section of Fulton Mill Road (Sipes et al. 2009). Sipes identified no features or intact cultural deposits at 9BI165 and recommended the site to be ineligible for listing on the NRHP under Criterion D due to all artifacts intermixed and located within the plow zone, and the disturbance caused by the prior razing of the historic structure (Sipes et al. 2009:34-40). For 9BI167, Sipes identified no features or intact cultural deposits and recommended the site to be ineligible for listing on the NRHP under Criterion D due to lack of intact cultural deposits making it unlikely to contain future research potential (Sipes et al. 2009).

EPEI’s archaeological survey for the proposed roundabout for the SR 22 and CR 740 intersection was performed in three separate field efforts. The first field survey effort revisited one previously recorded site, 9BI167; while the second field survey effort revisited 9BI167 and identified a newly recorded resource, 9BI267. The third field survey effort revisited another previously recorded site, 9BI165. The previously recorded archaeological sites, 9BI165 and 9BI167 partially mapped within the ESB, were originally recommended ineligible for listing on the NRHP. Because the site revisits did not provide any additional information to change the original site interpretation, EPEI recommends that the sites remain ineligible for listing on the NRHP under Criterion D. No further work is recommended for these two sites. Site 9BI267, partially located within the ESB, yielded Coastal Plain chert debitage (n=3) generally attributable to the precontact era, lacks data potential due to low artifact density, and lack of temporally diagnostic artifacts. Because only a portion of the site was surveyed, 9BI267 is recommended to be of unknown eligibility for listing on the NRHP under Criterion D. It is recommended that the unknown portions of the 9BI267 be protected by the establishment of an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) with Orange Barrier Fencing (OBF) along the established APE for the length of the site in order to prevent inadvertent impacts.