KENTUCKY PRESS NEWS SERVICE
Volunteers will be out in force next week to summer scrub Kentucky
highways. The Transportation Cabinet announced Monday that
Adopt-a-Highway Summer Scrub Week is June 2-8.
“The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet appreciates the efforts of our
Adopt-a-Highway volunteers who help keep our highways and communities
beautiful and litter-free,” Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock said
in a news release.
Nearly 750 groups participate in Kentucky’s Adopt-a-Highway program,
which was established in 1988. Volunteers clean about 5,100 miles of
roadside annually, setting an example of responsible environmental
stewardship.
The Adopt-a-Highway program promotes public environmental awareness and
supports tourism. The program also creates a partnership between
citizens, community and government, the news release said.
Each year, the state Transportation Cabinet spends about $5 million and
200,000 worker hours to remove 96,000 bags of highway litter.
Adopt-a-Highway volunteers help save thousands of taxpayer dollars and
demonstrate that a clean environment is a shared responsibility, the
news release said.
Any permanently established business, association, community or public
organization, or government entity can adopt a stretch of highway. A
wide range of groups throughout Kentucky now participate, including
homemaker clubs, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, high school
organizations, service clubs, veterans, college fraternities and
sororities, sports teams and church groups, among others.
Volunteers adopt two-mile sections of highway under a two-year, renewable contract with the Transportation Cabinet.
Adopt-a-Highway coordinators can explain the fundamentals of the program
to volunteer groups, work with group members in locating an available
highway, and keep them notified of news and upcoming events.
Litter pickups are held at least four times per year or as many times as
necessary to keep adopted areas reasonably litter-free. The cabinet
coordinates three annual clean-up efforts.
Groups interested in becoming members of the Adopt-a-Highway Program can
find details and district coordinator information at
http://adopt-a-highway.ky.gov/. Safety guidelines are provided to
volunteers and should be reviewed prior to each cleanup.
The Adopt-a-Highway coordinators help volunteers get in touch with the
county maintenance crew superintendent to arrange warning sign placement
on the date of pickup. Trash bags and safety vests can be obtained at
each state maintenance facility, and litter removal is provided by the
state highway crews.
For more information, visit the project website at
http://adopt-a-highway.ky.gov/. For questions or comments, contact
Miranda Thacker, (502) 564-3419, or e-mail Miranda.Thacker@ky.gov.
