TxDOT Archaeological Statewide Surveys

Since 2014, TxDOT has awarded SWCA four separate Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts for 2-year archaeological surveys and related services throughout the state of Texas. These services were required for transportation activities under federal and state statutes as outlined in a memorandum of understanding between the THC and TxDOT and the First Amended Programmatic Agreement among the FHWA, TxDOT, the THC, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation regarding the Implementation of Transportation Undertakings. The total capacity of these four statewide contracts was $3 million for more than 170 proposed TxDOT projects. These archaeological survey efforts comprised reconnaissance survey and intensive survey, including pedestrian examination of the surface, shovel testing, auger probing, and trenching by mechanical means where appropriate; archaeological site definition; and the preparation of individual reports on the survey results. These assessment types have consisted of new rights-of-way / realignments / interchanges, bridge replacement and approaches, and cemetery surveys/scrapings associated with various road realignment projects in more than 75 counties across Texas.

Project managers at the individual SWCA offices coordinated landowner contacts if right-of-entry was needed; ensured the One-Call for buried utility locations was conducted prior to work commencement; established subcontracting services for mechanical backhoe trenching, scraping, and/or remote sensing (i.e., ground penetrating radar); and oversaw the fieldwork methods and reporting efforts for all of these projects. Cultural resources fieldwork and reporting staff for these projects was drawn from our Arlington, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio offices, whichever was closest to the project area; this exemplifies SWCA’s commitment to providing quality service and expertise in an efficient and economical manner for our clients. The work that SWCA is conducting for the on-call retainer contracts for archaeological survey services for TxDOT strongly supports SWCA’s ability to manage and respond to a large number of work authorizations, across an expansive geography, for the varied cultural resources needs requested by a state agency. We believe this same staffing and management approach, and continued implementation of our quality control processes, will be integral to the successful completion of any City projects requiring cultural resources services.