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5.3 CULTURAL RESOURCES <br /> No cultural resources are previously recorded within the project area or within a 1 mile <br /> radius of the LEC. There are no historic districts,cultural landscapes,National Register of <br /> Historic Places-listed or eligible properties within 1 mile of the project area, according to the <br /> results of the records and literature search. No buildings or structures were noted on any of <br /> the historic maps within LEC project area or within the proposed gas line;however the <br /> Western Pacific Railroad is visible on the 1953 Lodi South 7.5' USGS topographic map at the <br /> very eastern end of the project area. <br /> P-39-000098 Western Pacific Railroad <br /> The section of rail line visible on the 1953 Lodi South quad is a segment of the Old Western <br /> Pacific Railway Company main line. This line was originally built as a feeder line for the <br /> main Southern Pacific and Central Pacific lines,which were the first railroads to run <br /> through the San Joaquin Valley. The Western Pacific Railroad (WPRR) is now a part of the <br /> Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR). Two separate sections of this railroad are recorded <br /> elsewhere in San Joaquin County as site P-39-00098, CA-SJO-000292-H. These previously <br /> recorded and discontinuous segments are not considered eligible to the NRHP as the <br /> segments lack integrity due to modern improvements made to the tracks,the rail ties, and <br /> the rail beds (Larson and Johnson 2003,Jensen,2004). <br /> The historic UPRR constructed in the late 1880's represented the westernmost portion of the <br /> Transcontinental Railroad between Sacramento and San Jose. The various rail lines of the <br /> UPRR are recorded elsewhere in San Joaquin County with the following site numbers: <br /> Southern Pacific,P-39-000002, CA-SJO-000250H;Western Pacific,P-39-000098, <br /> CA-SJO-00292H; and Tidewater-Southern,P-39-000015,CA-SJO-00256H. The Western <br /> Pacific Railroad Company was founded in 1903 and the WPRR was built between 1905 and <br /> 1909. The rail line ran from Oakland,through the San Joaquin Valley and into the Sierra <br /> Nevadas to Salt Lake City by Feather River Canyon and Beckwourth Pass. The WPRR ran <br /> the California Zephyr passenger train and was the first large western railroad to eliminate <br /> steam locomotives and replace them with diesel locomotives (Kneiss 1953). <br /> The WPRR merged with the UPRR in 1983,two months before its 80tth anniversary.Shortly <br /> after,the UPRR began a series of improvements to the Old WPRR tracks to enable larger <br /> locomotives and heavier freight cars running at higher speeds to run on the WPRR. The <br /> upgrades included heavier rails,new ties, and improved rail beds to permit higher tonnage <br /> on the tracks (Bridges 1983,Larson and Johnson 2003). <br /> 5.3.1.5.2 Archaeological Field Survey <br /> A cultural resources survey of the proposed LEC site was conducted on June 26,2008,by <br /> Natalie Lawson, M.A., RPA, a CRS who meets the qualifications for Principal Investigator <br /> stated in the Secretary of the Interior's standards and guidelines for archaeology and historic <br /> preservation(USNPS,1983). This field survey included the plant site and four temporary <br /> laydown and/or parking areas. Additional survey of the proposed gas line was conducted on <br /> July 25,2008. The site is located within the existing WPCF and STIG plant,southwest of the <br /> intersection of Highway 12 and Interstate 5, at the end of North Cord Road on Thornton Road <br /> within an extension of the City of Lodi, California. The proposed gas line extends 2.5 miles <br /> east of the southern end of the LEC site,crossing the UPRR/WPRR Railroad, and connecting <br /> to Pacific Gas and Electric Line #108 just east of the railroad. <br /> 5.3-8 SAC/371322/082330008(LEC_5.3_CULTU RAL.DOC) <br />