U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Federal Railroad 

Administration 

Ms. Ginny Jones 

OCT 3 I 2013 

Bureau of Historic Preservation 

Division of Historical Resources 

Florida Department of State 

500 South Bronaugh Street 

Tallahassee, FL 32399 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

RE: Cultural Resources Assessment Report (CRAR) of the All Aboard Florida (AAF) 

Passenger Rail Project (Project) from Orlando to West Palm Beach 

Orange, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach Counties 

Dear Ms. Jones: 

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is completing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the above-referenced project to be undertaken by All Aboard Florida (AAF). AAF is pursuing 

funding for this Project through FRA's Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) 

Program. The Project proposes implementing a privately owned, operated, and maintained intercity 

passenger rail service that will connect downtown Miami, Florida to downtown West Palm Beach, 

Florida with one stop in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida with continuing service to Orlando, 

Florida. To accommodate this, the Project proposes improvements to existing rail line within the 

existing Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway Corridor Main Line right of way (ROW); addition of new 

or modified rail within the existing FEC Railway Corridor Main Line ROW; construction of new rail 

line along the SR 528 transportation corridor; construction of new passenger rail stations in Miami, 

Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando; upgrades to numerous bridges, highway crossings, 

and pedestrian crossings; addition of new track signal controls at key intersections; and construction 

of a new vehicle maintenance facility (VMF) near the Orlando station terminus. 

The Cultural Resources Assessment Report (CRAR) project area extends from Orlando to West Palm 

Beach via Cocoa Beach. The following segments are part of the current documentation: the Airport 

Rail Alignment and Vehicle Maintenance Facility (VMF), the East-West Corridor from Cocoa to 

Orlando, and the North-South Corridor from West Palm Beach to Cocoa Beach. An East-West 

Corridor of approximately 40 miles from Cocoa to Orlando, Florida, generally parallel to the existing 

State Road 528 (SR 528 or Beachline Expressway), extends the service to the Orlando International 

Airport (MCO), where the new VMF will be constructed. An extension of the North-South Corridor 

includes approximately 128.5 miles of rail improvements between West Palm Beach and Cocoa, 

Florida, within an existing, active freight rail ROW. Figure 1 in the CRAR document illustrates the 

Project Location. 

For the purposes of evaluation, AAF, in coordination with SHPO and FRA, developed appropriate 

Areas of Potential Effect (APE) for the necessary corridor improvements. Appendices D, E, and F 

within the CRAR document show the locations of the cultural resources identified within the APEs. 

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Airport Rail Alignment and VMF 

A review of previous surveys and an updated search of the Florida Master Site File (FMSF) data 

identified one previously recorded archaeological site within the archaeological resources APE 

established for the Airport Rail Alignment and VMF. South Terminal Northeast (80R8277) is located 

within the Airport Rail Alignment in Orange County and is a low-density precolumbian lithic scatter 

consisting of two lithic waste flakes. The SHPO previously determined this site ineligible for listing 

in the National Register in 1998. 

The previous surveys also included the entirety of the historic APE for the Airport Rail Alignment 

and VMF. An updated desktop survey resulted in the identification of no new historic resources 

located within the APE for the Airport Rail Alignment and VMF. 

East-West Corridor 

No previously recorded or newly recorded archaeological sites were identified within the 

archaeological APE for the East-West Corridor as a result of the current survey. Access to a 

portion of the East-West Corridor located within one private landowner's property was not 

possible during the current survey. Once access is coordinated, a supplemental addendum report 

will be completed to document the results of pedestrian survey and subsurface testing within this 

portion of the East-West Corridor. 

The historic resources survey for the AAF Railway East-West Corridor resulted in the 

identification of nine historic resources within the APE. Of the identified historic resources, six 

were previously recorded (8BR1735, 8BR1736, 80R9851, 8BD1870, 8BD2697, and 80R9850) 

and three are newly recorded (8BR3066, 8BR3067, and 8BR3068). All of the previously 

recorded historic resources, with the exception of the National Register-eligible Florida East Coast 

Railroad (8BR1870), were determined ineligible for inclusion in the National Register by the 

SHPO. The three newly recorded historic buildings identified within the project APE are 

considered ineligible for listing in the National Register either individually or as part of a 

district. 

North-South FEC Railway Corridor 

Due to its ongoing use as an active freight line with frequent train traffic, subsurface 

archaeological testing was not feasible within the FEC ROW for reasons of safety. 

Five previously recorded archaeological sites were identified within the archaeological APE for 

the North-South FEC Railway Corridor Main Line. One archaeological site (8IR846) was identified 

within the Indian River County segment of the APE; one site (8MT1287) was identified within 

the Martin County segment of the APE; and three previously recorded sites (8SL41, 8SL113 6, and 

8SL1772) were identified within the St. Lucie County segment of the APE. While none of these 

five previously recorded archaeological sites are National Register-listed, and none have been 

previously determined by the SHPO to be National Register-eligible, 8MT1287 and 8SL41 

were evaluated by the initial FMSF recorder as potentially National Register-eligible. No 

previously recorded archeological sites were identified within the Brevard or Pa 1 m 

Beach county segments of the North-South FEC Railway Corridor Archaeological APE. 

Approximately 2.2 miles of the North-South FEC Railway Corridor Archaeological 

APE within Palm Beach County are located within the Coastal Zone and Loxahatchee River 

archaeological zones described in the Prehistoric Resources in Palm Beach County: A 

Preliminary Predictive Study. 

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The FEC Railway (8BR1870/8IR1497/8IR1518/8SL3014/8MT1391/8MT1450/8PB12102) was 

previously determined by SHPO to be eligible for listing in the National Register as a linear 

historic district. 

Thirteen historic railway bridges were identified within the North-South FEC Railway Corridor 

Main Line ROW APE (8BR3058, 8BR3059, 8BR3060, 8BR3061, 8BR3062/8IR1569, 

8SL3191, 8SL3192, 8MT1623, 8MT1382, 8MT1624, 8MT1625, 8MT1626, and 8PB16041). 

With the exception of 8SL3192, which is non-contributing, each identified bridge is 

considered a contributing resource within the National Register-eligible FEC Railway linear 

historic district. Four of these bridges ( 8BR3058, 8BR3062/8IR1569, 8MT1382, and 

8PB 16041) are also considered individually eligible for listing in the National Register. 

A total of 60 significant historic resources were identified adjacent to the North-South FEC 

Railway Corridor Main Line ROW within the project limits during the Reconnaissance 

Survey. These re s o u r c e s include 12 in Brevard County, 12 in Indian River County, 23 m 

St. Lucie County, 10 in Martin County, and three in Palm Beach County. 

Along the North-South FEC Railway Corridor Main Line, three at-grade crossings are located 

adjacent to one National Register-eligible historic district in Brevard County, Union Cypress Saw 

Mill Historic District (8BR2173); four at-grade crossings are located within a considered 

National Register-eligible historic district in St. Lucie County, Edgar Town Historic District 

(8SL2801); and two at-grade crossings are located within and adjacent to the considered 

National Register-eligible Kelsey City Layout (8PB13340) in Palm Beach County. 

FRA has evaluated the Project and the report pursuant to the regulations adopted by the Advisory 

Council on Historic Preservation (36 CPR 800). FRA seeks the concurrence of your office with the 

findings pursuant to 36 CFR 800.5 ( c )(1). Please respond within thirty days of your receipt of this 

letter. FRA may consider your lack of response as concurrence with the above finding, as provided 

in 36 CFR 800.S(c)(l). 

In the event your office disagrees with this finding, please notify us via email, and overnight or 

private delivery service to ensure timely receipt of your communications. 

If you have questions or wish to discuss this project further, please contact me at 

Mary.hassell@dot.gov or telephone: 202-493-1310. 

Sincerely, 

Mary D. Hassell, CEP 

Team Lead, Environment and Systems Planning Division 

Enclosure 

cc: Margarita Martinez Miguez, Florida East Coast Industries, Inc. 

Lisa Standley, VHB 

Angelique Bochnak, AMEC 

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