Client:
R. B. Shannon & Associates, Inc.
Project:
Beatty Mills Bridge
Location:
North Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania
Our Role:
Phase I Archaeological Survey, Effect, MOA, State Level Documentation
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PENNDOT) is proposing to replace the existing Beatty Mills Bridge carrying T-659 over Buffalo Creek in North Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Beatty Mills Bridge is a wrought iron Bowstring pony truss constructed ca. 1875 by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company (WIBC). This 86-foot long, single span bridge is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a remarkably complete and important example of an early metal truss bridge. Out of the 11,855 Pennsylvania bridges included in a survey conducted in the 1990s by PENNDOT, only four others are Bowstring pony trusses. In addition, less than one percent of these bridge (or 55 bridges) are fabricated of wrought iron. After applying the Criteria of Effect and the Criteria of Adverse Effect, it was recommended that there would be an adverse effect to this historic resource as a result of the proposed undertaking. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau for Historic Preservation (PHMC/BHP) concurred with this recommendation. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was prepared. State Level Documentation will be completed as a measure to mitigate the adverse effect. A Phase I Archaeological field survey was conducted in 2003. Based on the results of the Phase I survey, a very small portion of one archaeological resource, the previously recorded Ray Site (36Ar414), was re-identified within the boundaries of the project area. It was determined that this small portion would not be likely to yield significant information; therefore, no additional archaeological survey was required for this project.
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