Adopt-a-Highway Celebrates 20th Anniversary
- 03.10.05
Texas-born campaign now a worldwide effort
(AUSTIN, TEXAS)—Twenty years ago, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) district engineer Bobby Evans was frustrated about his hometown's roadside litter problem. So the Tyler, Texas, resident decided to do something about this eyesore in his community.
Evans created a program called Adopt-a-Highway in 1985 to encourage Tyler residents to adopt sections of roadway and commit to cleaning up litter regularly.
This call for volunteers was answered when the Tyler Civitan Club became the world's first Adopt-a-Highway volunteer group, adopting a two-mile stretch of highway the club still maintains today.
"The volunteer spirit that began two decades ago in Tyler is still very much alive and seen in thousands of groups that clean their highways to enhance the environment," said Bobby Evans, founder of the nation's first Adopt-a-Highway program. "When we started, we had no idea the program would one day spread across the nation, even around the world."
But it has. Today Adopt-a-Highway programs are worldwide in Australia, Canada and Japan as well as all 50 states. Across the U.S. alone, 1 million volunteers clean up more than 200,000 miles of roadsides every year.
"What started as an experiment in Tyler has now become a grassroots litter-prevention model used around the world," said TxDOT Travel Division Director Doris Howdeshell. "We're proud of the program's Texas roots."
The program that started with one Texan has now grown to more than 3,800 groups across Texas. Over the next 20 years, TxDOT hopes to grow its Adopt-a-Highway program to see every mile of eligible Texas highway adopted with the help of more volunteer groups.
Adopt-a-Highway has motivated many individuals and communities to combat roadside litter in new and interesting ways.
- Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Puerto Rico participate in Adopt-a-Highway programs, and representatives from Great Britain, Japan and South Africa have visited Texas to learn how the program could be implemented in their countries.
- Celebrities like Bette Midler have adopted roads in New York and Los Angeles. Midler has even signed up fellow actor Robin Williams.
- In New York City, the Brooklyn Bridge is part of the city's Adopt-a-Highway program. Interested groups "bid" for the coveted plaque position in exchange for keeping the bridge clean.
- The program has become so popular in areas, such as Southern California and Hawaii, that every stretch of adoptable road is tended by AAH groups.
To get involved, visit the Web site at www.texasaah.org. Potential volunteers will be directed to a local Adopt-a-Highway coordinator where they can sign up for highways available in their area.
