Over a Decade of Design-Build Archaeology on the California High-Speed Rail, Construction Package 1 from Madera to Fresno, California

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) is responsible for planning, designing, building and operation of the nation’s first high-speed rail system. The high-speed rail system is being built through a series of design-build contracts. Construction Package 1 (CP-1) runs 32 miles from Avenue 19 in Madera County to East American Avenue in Fresno County. This long-term, compliance-based archaeological research consists of historical-period discoveries, mitigation, and compliance through parts of rural San Joaquin Valley and downtown Fresno using a design-build approach. Initial Phase I inventories of the APE (totaling 1,651 acres) were completed in 2012 in two separate NRHP Section 106-compliant EIRs with associated MOAs, MMRPs, and ATPs under one Section 106 PA. Record search results identified eight eligible or potentially eligible, historical-period archaeological resources within the APE and five within 0.25 miles of the APE. In the last 10+ years, 1,569 acres of APE have been added and surveyed, producing hundreds of isolated historical-period artifacts. During construction, we have tested 36 newly-identified sites, four are potentially eligible and 32 sites were recommended as not eligible. Fifty-nine Banker's boxes of historical-period artifacts have been analyzed and the Authority is collaborating with the City of Fresno on curation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40220.0