US 17 Washington Bypass, North Carolina

ESI performed an underwater archaeological remote sensing survey of a proposed bridge across the Tar River near Washington in Beaufort County, North Carolina.  ESI was subcontracted to Rummel, Klepper & Kahl, LLP of Raleigh, North Carolina, on behalf of the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The survey of the preferred corridor included an area approximately 1000 feet wide and averaged 1750 feet long, covering an area approximately 40 acres in size.  Proposed construction activities associated with the corridor include dredging, piling installation and work vessel anchorage that had the potential to impact submerged cultural resources within and adjacent to the preferred corridor.

Due to the potential for submerged cultural resources (e.g., historic shipwrecks, submerged prehistoric sites, etc.) in the vicinity, the presence of known submerged cultural resource near the study area, and in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA 1966, as amended), Rummel, Klepper and Kahl (RK&K) on behalf of NCDOT contracted ESI to conduct a remote sensing survey of the study corridor.  The objective of the survey was to locate and identify any submerged cultural resources within the preferred corridor using both magnetometer and side scan sonar sensors.

Geophysical data for underwater archaeological survey was collected and four magnetic anomalies were identified during the survey.

Side Scan of Submerged Barge

Site Location from Boat