Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Proposed SR 83 Connector, Walton County, Georgia - USACE Section 106 Report (SAS #2018-00422)

The proposed project would construct a 7.56-kilometer (km) (4.7 mile [mi]) long connector on a new location that would provide an alternate route around the historic downtown City of Monroe, Georgia (Figure 1). The connector would begin at State Route (SR) 11 approximately 0.8 km (0.5 mi) south of the city limits, extend east of the city, and end at James Huff Road (SR 83). Physical construction would terminate at SR 83; however, the connector would tie into the existing intersection of James Huff Road and SR 10/United States Highway (US) 78. The proposed typical section along the SR 83 connector would consist of two 3.66-meter (m) (12-foot [ft]) lanes (one travel lane in each direction) with 3.05 m (10 ft) outside shoulders (1.98 m [6.5 ft] paved). At intersection locations, single 3.66 m (12 ft) right- and left-turn lanes would be provided. The existing segment of SR 83 would remain as a two-lane roadway for approximately 1.17 km (0.73 mi) from SR 83 at the proposed SR 83 connector and would remain as a four-lane roadway with 3.66 m (12 ft) travel lanes, including a combination of a raised and depressed median, for approximately 0.77 km (0.48 mi) north of the two-lane section, leading to SR 83 at SR 10/US 78.

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is issuing a Section 404 permit for discrete portions of the project surrounding impacted Waters of the United States (WOTUS) (Figure 1). The USACE has determined that the scope of analysis (SOA) for the proposed project is limited to impacted WOTUS and a 100 m (328 ft) buffer from the impacted waters. The impacted waters as determined by the SOA are located within Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) project limits (Figures 2a-f) which have been previously surveyed.

The previous GDOT survey area is comprised of the results of three surveys. Edwards-Pitman, Inc. (EP) originally performed a Phase I archaeological survey for the project in March 2014 that covered estimated project limits based on plans available at the time as well as a 30 m (100 ft) expanded survey corridor (ESC) buffer (Moss 2014). Project changes to PI No. 0000411 necessitated an addendum survey that was completed by EP in 2018 (Blackwelder 2018). This first addendum survey examined an Environmental Survey Boundary (ESB) measuring approximately 122 m (400 ft) in width by approximately 9 km (4.97 mi) in length, which incorporated all the areas needed to complete the design as well as a buffer to account for potential changes as the design progressed. The 2018 addendum survey examined only those portions of the ESB that fell outside the coverage provided by the original 2014 survey. Both surveys included shovel testing at 30 m (98.42 ft) intervals throughout the respective survey areas. Recently, a second addendum survey was performed in 2021 as the project approached final plans for four minor addendum survey areas totaling approximately 0.183 hectares (ha) (0.459 acres [ac]) that resulted from shifts in the design of easements (Moss and Carey 2022).