10/29/2010
Adopt-A-Highway groups out in force to clean up area highways
There are 182 groups cleaning 329 miles of
roadway on the state highway system in the five northern counties. The program, which began in 1990, saves
Idaho taxpayers thousands of dollars each year. The volunteers allow the Idaho Transportation Department to use its limited
resources to efficiently maintain and operate the
state's highways.
Groups and individuals who volunteer to adopt
a two-mile stretch of highway agree to clean up litter twice a year, usually in
the spring and fall. The transportation department provides
signs, safety vests, trash bags and flags. In 2009, more than 1,900 participants spent approximately
4,000 hours picking up trash. That
amounted to 3,461 sacks, or 120,645 pounds of litter.
Anyone interested in becoming an Adopt-A-Highway volunteer
can contact District Coordinator Diane Dubos at 208-772-1297.