Archeological Impact Evaluations and Surveys in the Texas Department of Transportation's Atlanta, Dallas, Fort Worth, Paris, and Waco Districts, 1998-2000

• Main Authors: Fields, Ross C., Gadus, E. Frances, Kibler, Karl W., Nordt, Lee C.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: SFA ScholarWorks 2000
• Subjects: Texas Archeology; American Material Culture; American Studies; Anthropology; Archaeological Anthropology; Environmental Studies; History; History of Art; Architecture; and Archaeology; Other American Studies; Other Arts and Humanities; Other History of Art; United States History; Archeological Survey
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ita/vol2000/iss1/26; https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1703&context=ita

This document constitutes the final report of work done by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. (PAI), under a contract from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to provide archeological services in five TxDOT districts—Atlanta, Dallas, Fort Worth, Paris, and Waco—in northeast, north-central, and central Texas. Under this contract, PAI completed Impact Evaluations and Surveys to assist TxDOT in meeting the requirements of their Memorandum of Understanding with the Texas Historical Commission and a Programmatic Agreement between the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Federal Highway Administration, the Texas Historical Commission, and TxDOT. The contract began on 31 August 1998 and concluded on 31 August 2000. During these two years, 41 work orders were completed. The 41 work orders consisted of 119 Impact Evaluations, 21 Surveys, 3 Surveys with Geoarcheological Evaluation, 1 work order for a quality control meeting with TxDOT, and 1 work order to produce this report. Combined, these work orders entailed efforts at 151 bridge or relief structure replacements, 14 projects involving primarily road widening or realignment (most with bridge replacements as well), and 1 project consisting of construction of an exit ramp. During completion of these work orders, 16 newly discovered or previously recorded archeological sites and 1 possible site were investigated. Fourteen of the Impact Evaluations resulted in a recommendation that an archeological survey be completed prior to construction. In 69 additional Impact Evaluations for which specific constructions were not available, survey was recommended if areas outside the existing right of way, or below the zone of disturbance within the existing right of way, will be disturbed substantially. The remaining 36 Impact Evaluations resulted in a recommendation that no survey be required based on the extent of disturbance and the limited potential for sites with good integrity. Three of the Surveys investigated sites that were recommended for testing to assess eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and designation as State Archeological Landmarks. On two other surveys, it was recommended that charcoal recovered be radiocarbon dated to aid in making the decision about whether testing is needed. The other 19 Surveys either did not find any archeological sites or investigated sites that could be assessed as ineligible for National Register listing and State Archeological Landmark designation using the survey data.