Archeological Impact Evaluations and Surveys in the Texas Department of Transportation's Corpus Christi, Laredo, Pharr, and San Antonio Districts 2003-2005

Abstract

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 four TxDOT districts—Corpus Christi, Laredo, Pharr, and San Antonio. 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 March 17, 2003, and the last work authorization was issued on February 17, 2005. During those two years, fieldwork was done under 33 work authorizations. The 33 work authorizations consisted of 53 Impact Evaluations, 33 Surveys, and 2 Surveys with Geoarcheological Evaluation. Combined, these work authorizations entailed efforts at 47 bridge replacements, 4 bridge rehabilitation projects, 2 locations where new bridges will be built, 20 road rehabilitation or widening projects (many also involving bridge replacements or upgrades), 1 interstate highway rest area replacement, 3 drainage improvement projects, 2 curve realignment projects, 3 projects involving construction of new roads, 1 project involving construction of a railroad grade separation, 1 pedestrian bridge construction project, 1 project involving construction of a water taxi landing, 1 project involving construction of a hike-and-bike trail, 1 project involving modification of a highway interchange, and 1 project involving documentation of an archeological site disturbed by placement of a buried utility line. During completion of these work authorizations, 26 newly discovered or previously recorded archeological sites were investigated, although in the case of 9 previously recorded sites, no archeological remains were observed in the areas that will be impacted by the proposed Transportation Activities. Three of the Impact Evaluations led to recommendations that survey could be needed before construction, in some cases depending on whether new right of way would be required. The other 50 Impact Evaluations resulted in recommendations that no survey be required before construction based on the limited potential for sites with good integrity. Thirteen of the Surveys investigated a total of 3 newly recorded and 12 previously recorded sites. Of these 15 sites, 1 was considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and designation as a State Archeological Landmark, and 1 was recommended as needing testing to assess eligibility. The other 33 Surveys either did not find any archeological sites, or they investigated sites that could be assessed as ineligible for National Register listing and State Archeological Landmark designation using the survey data. The records and artifacts generated by the project are curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory.