The City of Oroville proposed a project to build a connector street between Jennings Loop Road and Bob Neil Road that will ease traffic issues and facilitate access to the Cascade and Columbia Railhead. The new connector road will include a curved street that connects the two roads and a stormwater pond along the southeast corner of the new street. In addition, a length of Bob Neil Road will be abandoned by the City of Oroville for use by an industrial entity. This will reduce residential access into an area that has become heavily trafficked by trucks and forklifts, thus increasing safety for the general public and for the industrial entity. The proposed road construction will require excavation, compaction of sediments, and other ground-disturbing activities.
Plateau conducted cultural resource survey of the proposed project which included pre-field research for known cultural resources, previous surveys, and other pertinent information. This search revealed 17 previously recorded cultural resources and 16 previous cultural resource surveys within one mile of the Project Area. Of the known cultural resources, three included human remains.
Field investigation of the project area was performed with pedestrian survey and subsurface probing. The pedestrian survey and subsequent review of online maps revealed that a house had been recently removed. Also discovered during the survey was an isolated basalt flake within a parcel of land that constitutes the east end of the project area. Subsurface probing included excavation of 14 subsurface probes, four of which were located within 5 meters of the isolated flake. No additional pre-contact or historic-era cultural materials were found during the pedestrian survey or subsurface probing.
Based on the field results of this investigation, it is Plateau’s opinion that this project will result in No Historic Properties Affected. The project proponent, however, is reminded of the complexity of the cultural resources in the area, and to be judicious during execution of the project.
Location: Okanogan County, Washington
