What does “adopt a highway” mean and how does it work?

The short answer

Adopting a highway means you have volunteered to pick up litter on the side of a specific stretch of road for a period of time. When a group adopts a highway, they typically are required to conduct roadside cleaning 2-4 times per year in order to earn and keep their road sign with supplies provided by the state government.

"Adopt a Highway - Skol Vikings Sign - Minnesota (35053725306)" by Tony Webster is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED

The long answer

Along the highways of the United States (as well as Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan), you'll find signs like these:

These signs are the result of a highly successful environmental policy program known as the Adopt-a-Highway program. I couldn't find any national studies on the program, but California reports the program saves taxpayers $19 million annually on roadside maintenance. In Texas, 10% of all roads are adopted which amounts to $5 million in annual savings.

The Adopt-a-Highway program originated in Texas when James Evans, a Department of Transportation engineer, saw litter fly off the back of a pickup truck. He thought it'd be great to organize a group of volunteers to keep roadsides clean. A year later in 1985, the Texas Adopt-a-Highway program was born, and many other states soon followed.

But what does it mean when you adopt a highway?

The Adopt-a-Highway program is not run by the national government, so the operations vary from state to state. Generally, here's how it Adopt-a-Highway works:

• A group of volunteers (usually from a community organization, school, church, or small business) applies to adopt a stretch of highway, typically no longer than two miles.

• After the group schedules its first litter pickup day, they receive safety training and free supplies, such as reflective vests and trash bags.

• Typically after the first or second pickup, the group earns its Adopt-a-Highway road sign. What displays on the sign is usually limited to the group name and/or logo.

• To maintain their sign, the group commits to doing trash pickups at least 2-4 times per year.

Okay, now on to all the other interesting things I learned during the research:

Anyone can adopt a highway – even the KKK

In the United States, the freedom of speech applies even to the Adopt-a-Highway program. In 1994, the Ku Klux Klan applied to adopt a stretch of highway just south of St. Louis. The Missouri Department of Transportation rejected their application on the grounds that the Civil Rights Act allowed the state to refuse public funding that could "further or subsidize racial discrimination."

The case went all the way to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, where it was decided that it was unconstitutional to refuse the Ku Klux Klan to adopt a highway. However, the Ku Klux Klan failed to meet its minimum trash pickups and was subsequently dropped from the Missouri Adopt-a-Highway program.

How does Sponsor a Highway work?

Local businesses are frequent adopters of roadsides because of how it shows they are good stewards of the community – and because it's cheaper than a billboard. These businesses will either conduct volunteer days with their employees to meet the minimum trash requirements or they will outsource the work.

When companies outsource the work of cleaning, it's typically through a similar program called Sponsor-a-Highway and covers roadsides that would be unsafe for a volunteer group to manage. These companies pay a maintenance vendor to conduct litter removal on the company's behalf. Hiring these professional litter pickers typically costs between $200-$600 a month. That's pennies on the dollar compared to the cost of running a billboard to advertise your business, often $7,000-$14,000 a month. Savvy businesses get some good advertising, roads get cleaned, taxpayers save money: it's a win-win-win.

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Sources

A&E Television Networks. (2020, March 5). First Adopt-a-Highway sign goes up. History. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-adopt-a-highway-sign-goes-up

Mayyasi, A. (2016, March 25). The Economics of “Adopting A Highway.” Priceonomics. https://priceonomics.com/the-business-of-highway-adoption/

Mikkelson, D. (2001, April 5). Did Missouri Rename a Highway Adopted by the KKK After Rosa Parks?. Snopes. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kkk-highway-renamed-after-rosa-parks/

Pearson, V. (2017, October 24). Tyler gave birth to Adopt-a-Highway. TylerPaper.com. https://tylerpaper.com/news/local/tyler-gave-birth-to-adopt-a-highway/article_53b71b78-3838-5587-b538-2a2f23fb8a0f.html

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. (n.d.). Sponsor A Highway. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. https://www.penndot.pa.gov/about-us/RoadsideBeautification/Pages/Sponsor-A-Highway.aspx

State of California. (n.d.). Adopt-A-Highway. CalTrans. https://dot.ca.gov/programs/maintenance/adopt-a-highway