RICHMOND – Just as surely as leaves change color each fall, Adopt-a-Highway volunteers get out in force this time of year as well. Virginia’s statewide fall pickup is set for Saturday, Sept. 16.


There are two statewide pickup events each year – one in spring and one in fall.


Environmentally conscious volunteers commit to cleaning approximately two miles of Virginia’s roads four times a year. Volunteers work closely with a local Adopt-a-Highway coordinator to adopt roads in their community.


After cleaning their assigned road, volunteers report:

• The number of bags filled during their pickup
  
  
• The number of volunteers
  
  
• Any unusual items found
  
  
• The number of hours it took
  
  
• Where the Virginia Department of Transportation can pick up the orange bags stuffed with trash
  

Adopt-a-Highway volunteers consist of school and church groups, businesses, civic organizations, Girl and Boy Scout troops, college clubs, neighborhoods and individuals.


The Adopt-a-Highway program began in Virginia in 1988. Now with more than 6,800 groups and 13,000 miles of adopted highway, it is one of the largest programs in the country and has sparked many related programs like Adopt-a-Spot, Adopt-a-Street and Adopt-a-Stream. Volunteers clean about one-quarter of Virginia’s state-maintained roads and provide roughly $3 million annually in litter-control services to the state.


For more information, visit VirginiaDOT.org or call (800) PRIDE VA [(800) 774-3382].



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Information in VDOT news releases was accurate at the time the release was published. For the most current information about projects or programs, please visit the project or program Web pages. You may find those by searching by keyword in the search Virginia DOT box above.

Page last modified: Aug. 29, 2006