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Home My WebLink About20210392 Ver 1_SR 1137 (Watauga) No Survey form 2020_20210406Project Tracking No. 15-10-0030 “No ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED” form for Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2015 Programmatic Agreement. 1 of 12 NO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY REQUIRED FORM This form only pertains to ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES for this project. It is not valid for Historic Architecture and Landscapes. You must consult separately with the Historic Architecture and Landscapes Group. PROJECT INFORMATION Project No: County: Watauga WBS No: 11C.095108 Document: State Minimum Criteria Checklist Federal Aid No: Funding: State Federal Federal Permit Required? Yes No Permit Type: USACE Project Description: Grade, drain, base and pave SR 1137 (Justus Rd.) from SR 1136 (Clark's Creek Rd.) for 2 kilometers (1.27 miles) south to end of maintenance. The Area of Potential Effects (A.P.E.) is approximately 2 kilometers (1.27 miles) long and 14 meters (45 ft.) wide. The project is state funded. Federal permits will be required. No easements are required. Since USACE permitting is required the project is a federal undertaking and subject to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. NOTE: This form is an update of the Archaeoloigcal Survey Required form submitted on 8/11/2020. Several versions of this project have been reviewed. It was first submitted for Cultural Resources Review in February 2014 (see PA 14-02-0006). The scope of that project included improvement of the existing road with a segment of new alignment. An archaeological survey of the new alignment segment was conducted in April 2014 and identified no archaeological sites in the A.P.E. In December 2014 the scope of the project was reduced to include only the replacement of Bridge 137 on SR 1136 (Clark's Creek Rd.) over Clark's Creek. A survey of the A.P.E. to improve existing SR 1137 was conducted in November 2015, and a No National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)-Eligible Sites Present or Affected form was submitted on 4/27/2017 (as PA 15-10-0030). A reconnaissance of the Bridge 137 bridge replacement was conducted in January 2015, and a No Survey Required form was submitted in November 2015. It was later determined that the replacement of Bridge 137 had been previously submitted for archaeological review in 2012 (see PA 12-08-0119). A No Archaeological Survey Required form had been submitted for that project in October 2012. This project falls within a North Carolina County in which the following federally recognized Tribes have expressed an interest: the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the Catawba Indian Nation, and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. It is recommended that you contact each federal agency involved with your project to determine their Section 106 Tribal consultation requirements. SUMMARY OF CULTURAL RESOURCES REVIEW Brief description of review activities, results of review, and conclusions: The review included an examination of a topographic map and an aerial photograph, and a visual examination. As mentioned above, an archaeological survey of the area along existing SR 1137 was conducted in November 2015, and a survey of a new location segment was conducted in Project Tracking No. 15-10-0030 “No ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED” form for Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2015 Programmatic Agreement. 2 of 12 April 2014. The Archaeological Survey Required form submitted in August 2020 recommended a survey of the new location segment. No archaeological survey was recommended for the improvements along the existing road. The topographic map (Valle Crucis, N.C.) shows that the 2020 new location segment runs along the west side of SR 1137 near the north end of the A.P.E. The south end of the 2020 new location segment is approximately the same as the south end of the 2014 new location segment. However, the rest of the 2020 new location segment is located south of the 2014 segment, between it and existing SR 1137. It runs along the base of a ridge overlooking SR 1137 and Clark's Creek to the south. The new location segment appears to include a small section of floodplain, too. The ridge appears to be a moderate to steep slope, a landform with a low to moderate potential for prehistoric archaeological sites. The aerial photograph shows the new location segment is mostly wooded. The north end is cleared (garden or agricultural field?). An archaeological reconnaissance of the new location segment was conducted by NCDOT Archaeologist Caleb Smith and NCDOT Division 11 Environmental Officer Kevin Hinings on 10/21/2020. The reconnaissance began at the north end of the new location segment, an approximately 40-meter (131-ft.) long stretch of level ground at the base of a steeply sloped hillside. This narrow section of level land is located between the steep hillside and SR 1137. (Clark's Creek runs along the east side of the road.) Most of the level land appears to be poorly drained wetland associated with either a seasonal drainage or a spring. While some parts of the level area between the hill and the creek may have potential for archaeological sites, the part within the new location segment does not. The new location segment continues southwest across a steep hillside. Examination of the steep hillside did not identify any landforms with potential for archaeological sites (level terraces, level ridge toes, or rock overhangs). Brief Explanation of why the available information provides a reliable basis for reasonably predicting that there are no unidentified historic properties in the APE: The examination of the new location segment did not identify any landforms with the potential for prehistoric or historic archaeological sites. SUPPORT DOCUMENTATION See attached: Map(s) Previous Survey Info Photos Correspondence Photocopy of County Survey Notes Other: FINDING BY NCDOT ARCHAEOLOGIST NO ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED Caleb Smith 11/23/2020 NCDOT ARCHAEOLOGIST II Date “No ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED” form for Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2015 Programmatic Agreement. 3 of 12 Figure 1: Location of the SR 1137 (Justus Rd.) project in Watauga County, North Carolina. “No ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED” form for Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2015 Programmatic Agreement. 4 of 12 SR 1137 (Justus Rd.) Figure 2: Location of the SR 1137 (Justus Rd.) project on the Valley Crucis, N.C. topographic map. “No ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED” form for Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2015 Programmatic Agreement. 5 of 12 SR 1136 (Clark’s Creek Rd.) SR 1137 (Justus Rd.) Area of Potential Effects New location Figure 3: Topographic map of the SR 1137 (Justus Rd.) project (USGS 1:24,000 Valle Crucis, N.C. topographic map). “No ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED” form for Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2015 Programmatic Agreement. 6 of 12 New location Figure 4: Aerial photograph of the SR 1137 (Justus Rd.) project. “No ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED” form for Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2015 Programmatic Agreement. 7 of 12 Figure 5: 2020 design plans for the SR 1137 (Justus Rd.) project (page 1 of 4). New location “No ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED” form for Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2015 Programmatic Agreement. 8 of 12 Figure 6: 2020 design plans for the new location segment of the SR 1137 (Justus Rd.) project (page 2 of 4). New location “No ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED” form for Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2015 Programmatic Agreement. 9 of 12 New location Figure 7: 2020 design plans for the new location segment of the SR 1137 (Justus Rd.) project (page 3 of 4). “No ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED” form for Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2015 Programmatic Agreement. 10 of 12 New location Figure 8: 2020 design plans for the new location segment of the SR 1137 (Justus Rd.) project (page 4 of 4). “No ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED” form for Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2015 Programmatic Agreement. 11 of 12 Figure 9: Southwest view of the north end of the new location segment. Figure 10: Northwest view of the north end of the new location segment. “No ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED” form for Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2015 Programmatic Agreement. 12 of 12 Figure 11: Northeast view of the south end of the new location segment.