MnDOT Celebrates 30 Years of Adopt a Highway

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is thanking the service of those that have volunteered their time and effort to help keep their highways clean for 30 years.

MnDOT started the “Adopt A Highway” program three decades ago, when then-Governor Rudy Perpich visited Texas to speak with Lady Bird Johnson about the state’s anti-litter campaign called “Don’t Mess with Texas.”

According to officials from MnDOT, more than 3,800 volunteer groups, ranging from four to 25 people, spent an estimated 272,000 hours cleaning roadway ditches in 2019, picking up 40,000 bags of trash across Minnesota. This effort translated into an estimated $7 million in realized benefit for the state. Of the current roster of volunteers, 475 groups have been with the program all 30 years.

“The Adopt a Highway program is proof that Minnesotans care about their state. Volunteers picking up litter along our roadways also allows our MnDOT crews to focus on other work, like repairing guardrail, mowing and keeping highways safe,” said Ann McLellan, statewide Adopt a Highway manager. “It is a win-win situation for all involved.”

Volunteers are asked to commit to the program for at least two years and pick up litter on both sides of the roadway a minimum of twice a year. The average length of an adopted roadway is two miles.