Phase I Cultural Resources Assessment of Star Landing Road and the Canadian National Railroad in DeSoto County
Site Description:
Pickering provided the Phase I Cultural Resources Assessment of slightly over a half-mile of Star Landing Road and slightly over a mile of Canadian National Railroad right-of-way in anticipation of replacing a Canadian National railroad bridge over Star Landing Road in DeSoto County. The railroad bridge over Star Landing Road will accommodate only a single lane of traffic and the bridge will be replaced to accommodate five lanes. Construction design plans call the construction of a "shoo-fly" rail line while the bridge is under construction, and the existing rail bed is upgraded to accommodate the new bridge.
Historical Records:
The Canadian National rail bed was constructed in put into place in the 1840's, and was opened to rail traffic in 1849. The railroad crosses Star Landing Creek just south of Star Landing Road and a wet weather drain approximately one-half mile south of Star Landing Road. Both Star Landing Creek and the wet weather drain pass through culverts that were built as a part of the original rail bed. The Creek crossing passes through an arched double-celled brick culvert, and the wet weather drain passes through a single-cell arched brick culvert. Modifications of the double-cell culvert prevent it from satisfying the National Register criteria. The single-cell culvert has been determined eligible for admission to the Register, and mitigation of the loss will be accomplished through a data recovery program.
Mitigation Measures:
No significant resources are present along the alignment of Star Landing Road, but data recovery will be required at the smaller of the two Canadian National railroad culverts. This will be accomplished by documenting the construction techniques employed in culvert construction by exposing the area behind the head and wing walls of the culvert and at two additional locations along the length of the culvert barrel. Photographs, line drawings, and measurements will be included as a part of the documentation process.
Phase I Survey Completion Date 2005
Projected Mitigation Completion Date 2006