The University of Iowa maintains a contract services agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct the Highway Archaeology Program as a public service providing cultural resource assessments on transportation projects statewide. Archaeological sites in project areas are examined for their integrity and significance, as are historic buildings proposed for acquisition or removal. Additionally, cultural resource evaluations are available to local governments and preservation organizations applying for SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act—A Legacy for Users) transportation enhancement funding or project planning assistance. Project Completion Reports are submitted to the Iowa DOT Office of Location and Environment in Ames and contain project descriptions, background cultural and environmental data, archaeological and historic architectural survey and testing methods, results, and recommendations, and include maps and photographs. Archaeological collections are curated at the Office of the State Archaeologist in Iowa City, and historic architectural documentation is curated with the State Historic Preservation Office of the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines.

The Highway Archaeology Program coordinates archaeological and historic architectural surveys with transportation planners and engineers to provide cultural resource evaluations early in the planning process. In the past decade more than 800 transportation-related projects have been evaluated, including surveys across 17,500 acres (7,100 hectares), providing assessments of over 725 archaeological sites and 850 buildings or farmsteads affected by transportation improvements. In many instances, highway planners are able to successfully design projects to preserve significant historic properties eligible to the National Register of Historic Places.

Recently completed projects included a survey for additional land proposed for acquisition for I-80/I-380 and U.S. 218 interchange improvements in Johnson County. The survey revisited three previously recorded sites, and discovered two new prehistoric archaeological sites, which, unfortunately, only survive in disturbed plowed field context. A survey for an I-80 overpass in Cedar County, adjacent to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, contributed further details about the archaeological integrity of the Isaac Miles Farm located within the Hoover National Historic Site. After consultation with the National Park Service, permission to survey federal property adjacent to the proposed project area was received. This study contributed new information concerning site boundaries and located 11 previously undocumented archaeological features on the below-ground portion of the National Register-listed Isaac Miles Farm property, designated archaeological site 13CD139. A supplemental survey was also undertaken to complete the archaeological investigations along the U.S. 169 highway reconstruction corridor in Webster and Humboldt counties. Additionally, two historic architectural sites were evaluated in a follow-up to an I-35 improvement project in Warren County. The 1880 West Ridge Friends Church (site 91-00167), and the ca. 1890 Callison House (site 91-00166) were recorded and evaluated as part of the project. The study noted they are significant architectural properties and were recommended as eligible to the National Register of Historic Places. Both buildings, one a Queen Anne-style house, the other a small rural church displaying elements of the Italianate style, were recommended as eligible as excellent and intact examples of their respective types.

The Highway Archaeology Program meets professional standards and guidelines for archaeological and historic architectural fieldwork and reporting, with the goal providing counties, municipalities, and the Iowa DOT with complete preservation coverage on transportation projects. This work gathers useful historical and archaeological information that is of significant research and educational value. The program has had a long and successful tenure, and due to its comprehensive nature, is equipped to provide efficient and professional cultural resource evaluations.

Updated 2009

Carl Merry, RPA
Highway Archaeology Program Director

carl-merry@uiowa.edu

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