The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About20201589 Ver 1_B-5845 AR16-01-0066NoSurveyRevisitCorrected_20220112Project Tracking No. 2020 PROGRAMMATIC AGREEMENT ARCHAEOLOGY TEAM “NO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY REQUIRED” FORM 1 of 5 16-01-0066 N O 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 Team. PROJECT INFORMATION Project No: B-5845 County: Cleveland WBS No: 45798.1.1 Document: MCC Federal Aid No: na Funding: State Federal Federal Permit Required? Yes No Permit Type: USACE Project Description: The North Carolina Department of Transportation Division 12 intends to replace Bridge No. 25 on SR 2033, Oak Grove Road, over Buffalo Creek, south of the Kings Mountain Reservoir. No preliminary designs were included with the request for archaeological input, but a brief description of the project along with GIS Shapefiles depicting the proposed project footprint was provided. The proposed project will be undertaken largely along the existing alignment, but the proposed rights of way (ROW) will expand from 60 feet to 80 feet. For the purposes of the current screening the provided project footprint will be considered the archaeological area of potential effects (APE). This APE is estimated to encompass 11.5 acres (slightly more than 4.65 hectares). SUMMARY OF CULTURAL RESOURCES REVIEW Brief description of review activities, results of review, and conclusions: A review of archaeological site locations and shapefiles maintained by the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology (OSA) was conducted on May 21, 2021. No previously identified archaeological resources are recorded within the proposed APE, nor have any been recorded within a .5-mile radius of the proposed project. No historic properties are recorded with the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office (NC SHPO) within the APE nor are any known cemeteries within this same area. Three recorded historic properties have been recorded in the immediate vicinity. These include: the Freemon and Marie Cash House (CL0325; determined NRHP ineligible); the location of the Roberts-Cash House (CL0324; structure no longer extant); and the T.J. Elison Water Treatment Facility (CL1501; determined NRHP ineligible). No previously recorded archaeological sites or cemeteries fall within the remainder of the .5-mile radius surrounding the current APE. A proposal to replace Bridge No. 25 over Buffalo Creek was originally undertaken in February 2016. At that time, preliminary project area mapping was used to establish an APE 1600 feet long and 200 feet wide (Petersen 2016). This review of a much smaller project area (estimated at 7.35 acres) was determined to encompass an area dominated by excessively sloped and disturbed landforms. No archaeological survey was recommended at that time. Slightly over 1.4 miles to the southeast, a similar archaeological screening was undertaken for Bridge No. 34 over Muddy Fork Creek (Overton 2017). That bridge project exhibited a very different local physiography than is found in the vicinity of Bridge No. 25. Brian Overton, the Project Tracking No. 2020 PROGRAMMATIC AGREEMENT ARCHAEOLOGY TEAM “NO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY REQUIRED” FORM 2 of 5 16-01-0066 NCDOT staff archaeologist for that project determined that no archaeological survey was necessary for the bridge replacement (replace-in-place with an on-site detour) due to expected low- probability for archaeological sites associated with adjacent soil types and significant disturbances from buried utilities. An examination of the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Web Soil Survey (https://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm) reveals the following soil types within the proposed APE: Grover gravelly sandy loam, 15 to 30 percent slopes, rocky (GrD); Hulett gravelly sandy loam, 2 to 8 percent slopes (HhB); Hulett gravelly sandy loam, 8 to 15 percent slopes, stony (HtC); Madison-Bethlehem complex, 8 to 15 percent slopes very stony, moderately eroded (McC2); and Udorthents, loamy, 0 to 15 percent slopes (UdC). (This project falls within a North Carolina County in which the following federally recognized tribes have expressed an interest: Catawba Indian Nation. We recommend that you ensure that this documentation is forwarded to these tribes using the process described in the current NCDOT Tribal Protocol and PA Procedures Manual.) Brief Explanation of why the available information provides a reliable basis for reasonably predicting that there are no unidentified historic properties in the APE: While the presence of a few late historic cultural resources in the vicinity of the proposed project indicate that such cultural resources do occur locally, the APE itself appears to be dominated by environmental conditions unlikely to be associated with archaeological resources eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Much like the original assessment of the proposed replacement of this bridge, the APE appears to contain strongly sloped landforms and soils associated with recent landscape modification. In general, it is unlikely that intact, significant archaeological resources would be located in such conditions. The one late historic resource associated with local landscape modification has already been determined ineligible for the NRHP (per digital records archived at SHPO/OSA accessed May 21, 2021). No further archaeological investigations are required for the project as currently defined. Should the project area expand outside the current APE, further consultation will be necessary. The current undertaking is considered to be compliant with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and North Carolina General Statute 121-12(a). In the very unlikely event that historic or archaeological remains be encountered during the course of the project completion, all earth-disturbing activities should cease in the associated area immediately and the NCDOT Archaeology Team should be contacted immediately. References Cited: Overton, B. P. 2017 PA 16-11-0006, Bridge No. 220034. In Programmatic Agreement for Minor Transportation Projects Annual Report for Review Year 2016-2017, Multi-Counties, North Carolina. North Carolina Department of Transportation, Raleigh. Submitted to North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, State Historic Preservation Office, Raleigh. Petersen, S. C. Project Tracking No. 2020 PROGRAMMATIC AGREEMENT ARCHAEOLOGY TEAM “NO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY REQUIRED” FORM 3 of 5 16-01-0066 2016 PA 16-01-0066, TIP B-5845. In Programmatic Agreement for Minor Transportation Projects Annual Report for Review Year 2015-2016, Multi-Counties, North Carolina. North Carolina Department of Transportation, Raleigh. Submitted to North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, State Historic Preservation Office, Raleigh. SUPPORT DOCUMENTATION See attached: Map(s) Previous Survey Info Photos Correspondence Other: NRCS soil mapping FINDING BY NCDOT ARCHAEOLOGIST: NO ARCHAEOLOGY SURVEY REQUIRED NCDOT ARCHAEOLOGIST II Date May 24, 2021 Project Tracking No. 2020 PROGRAMMATIC AGREEMENT ARCHAEOLOGY TEAM “NO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY REQUIRED” FORM 4 of 5 16-01-0066 Aerial photograph with 2-foot contours illustrating the APE for the proposed replacement of Bridge No. 25 on SR 2033 over Buffalo Creek. Project Tracking No. 2020 PROGRAMMATIC AGREEMENT ARCHAEOLOGY TEAM “NO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY REQUIRED” FORM 5 of 5 16-01-0066 Aerial photograph depicting the locations of the current APE for the replacement of Bridge No. 25 (orange), the prior archaeological screening for Bridge No. 25 (yellow), and the archaeological screening for Bridge No. 34; note the location of historic properties (blue dots). Soil Map—Cleveland County, North Carolina (Replacement of Bridge No. 25) Natural Resources Conservation Service Web Soil Survey National Cooperative Soil Survey 5/21/2021 Page 1 of 3390338039034603903540390362039037003903780390338039034603903540390362039037003903780458130458210458290458370458450458530458610458690458770458850 458130 458210 458290 458370 458450 458530 458610 458690 458770 458850 35° 16' 36'' N 81° 27' 37'' W35° 16' 36'' N81° 27' 8'' W35° 16' 20'' N 81° 27' 37'' W35° 16' 20'' N 81° 27' 8'' WN Map projection: Web Mercator Corner coordinates: WGS84 Edge tics: UTM Zone 17N WGS84 0 150 300 600 900 Feet 0 50 100 200 300 Meters Map Scale: 1:3,420 if printed on A landscape (11" x 8.5") sheet. Soil Map may not be valid at this scale. MAP LEGEND MAP INFORMATION Area of Interest (AOI) Area of Interest (AOI) Soils Soil Map Unit Polygons Soil Map Unit Lines Soil Map Unit Points Special Point Features Blowout Borrow Pit Clay Spot Closed Depression Gravel Pit Gravelly Spot Landfill Lava Flow Marsh or swamp Mine or Quarry Miscellaneous Water Perennial Water Rock Outcrop Saline Spot Sandy Spot Severely Eroded Spot Sinkhole Slide or Slip Sodic Spot Spoil Area Stony Spot Very Stony Spot Wet Spot Other Special Line Features Water Features Streams and Canals Transportation Rails Interstate Highways US Routes Major Roads Local Roads Background Aerial Photography The soil surveys that comprise your AOI were mapped at 1:24,000. Warning: Soil Map may not be valid at this scale. Enlargement of maps beyond the scale of mapping can cause misunderstanding of the detail of mapping and accuracy of soil line placement. The maps do not show the small areas of contrasting soils that could have been shown at a more detailed scale. Please rely on the bar scale on each map sheet for map measurements. Source of Map: Natural Resources Conservation Service Web Soil Survey URL: Coordinate System: Web Mercator (EPSG:3857) Maps from the Web Soil Survey are based on the Web Mercator projection, which preserves direction and shape but distorts distance and area. A projection that preserves area, such as the Albers equal-area conic projection, should be used if more accurate calculations of distance or area are required. This product is generated from the USDA-NRCS certified data as of the version date(s) listed below. Soil Survey Area: Cleveland County, North Carolina Survey Area Data: Version 23, Jun 2, 2020 Soil map units are labeled (as space allows) for map scales 1:50,000 or larger. Date(s) aerial images were photographed: Apr 23, 2014—Nov 28, 2017 The orthophoto or other base map on which the soil lines were compiled and digitized probably differs from the background imagery displayed on these maps. As a result, some minor shifting of map unit boundaries may be evident. Soil Map—Cleveland County, North Carolina (Replacement of Bridge No. 25) Natural Resources Conservation Service Web Soil Survey National Cooperative Soil Survey 5/21/2021 Page 2 of 3 Map Unit Legend Map Unit Symbol Map Unit Name Acres in AOI Percent of AOI GrD Grover gravelly sandy loam, 15 to 30 percent slopes, rocky 4.0 35.1% HhB Hulett gravelly sandy loam, 2 to 8 percent slopes 0.1 0.7% HtC Hulett gravelly sandy loam, 8 to 15 percent slopes, stony 3.6 31.6% McC2 Madison-Bethlehem complex, 8 to 15 percent slopes, very stony, moderately eroded 3.2 27.9% UdC Udorthents, loamy, 0 to 15 percent slopes 0.0 0.0% W Water 0.6 4.8% Totals for Area of Interest 11.5 100.0% Soil Map—Cleveland County, North Carolina Replacement of Bridge No. 25 Natural Resources Conservation Service Web Soil Survey National Cooperative Soil Survey 5/21/2021 Page 3 of 3