![Adopt-A-Highway sign, CSU Pueblo Athletics](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Adopt-A-Highway_sign%2C_CSU_Pueblo_Athletics.jpg)
The Adopt-a-Highway program, and the very similar Sponsor-a-Highway, are promotional campaigns undertaken by
U.S. states,
provinces and territories
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and some national governments outside
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
to encourage volunteers to keep a section of a
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
free from litter. In exchange for regular litter removal, an
organization
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
The word is derived from ...
(such as
Cub Scout
Cub Scouts, Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with Scouting for young children usually between 7 and 12, depending on the organization to which they belong. A participant in the program is called a Cub. A group of Cubs is called a 'P ...
s or
Knights of Columbus) is allowed to have its name posted on a sign in the section of the highways they maintain.
History
![GLCSsign](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/GLCSsign.jpg)
The program originated in the 1980s when James Evans, an engineer for the
Texas Department of Transportation
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...
(TxDOT), saw
debris flying out of a
pickup truck
A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...
bed. Litter cleanup by the city was expensive, so Evans sought the help of local groups to sponsor the cleaning of sections of the highway. The efforts of Billy Black, a TxDOT public information officer, led to quarterly cleanup cycles, volunteer safety training, the issuing of reflective vests and equipment, and the posting of adopt-a-highway signs.
In 1985, the
Tyler Civitan Club became the first group to volunteer, adopting two miles along
U.S. Route 69
U.S. Route 69 (US 69) is a major north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's southern terminus (as well as ...
just north of
Loop 323 between Tyler and
Interstate 20
Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with Interstate 10, I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with Interstate 95, I-95 in Flo ...
. The program proved to be very successful and has since spread to 49 states,
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Vermont has a similar program called "
Green Up
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combina ...
."
In 1989, California became the 20th state to develop a highway litter control program when the
California Department of Transportation
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...
began administering the Adopt-A-Highway program for state highways. The program distinguishes between volunteer adoptions and sponsored adoptions. , more than 120,000 California residents have participated in the program to remove litter, plant trees and wildflowers, removing graffiti, and clearing vegetation along over of roadside.
Some states, such as
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, allow both Adopt-a-Highway and Sponsor-a-Highway programs. In both programs, an organization that contributes to the cleanup is allowed to post its name. However, while an adopting organization provides the volunteers who do the litter pickup, a sponsoring organization instead pays professional contractors to do the work. Because of safety concerns, the latter is more typical in highways with high traffic volumes.
Participation
![ESPROADSIDEAAHSIGN](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/ESPROADSIDEAAHSIGN.jpg)
The Adopt-A-Highway program allows any organization to participate, which became a point of controversy when the
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
adopted a portion of
Interstate 55 just south of
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. While legally the program had to uphold the groups' rights to participate, public outcry and repeated destruction of its sign was a cause of concern. In November 2000, the section of highway was designated as the
Rosa Parks Freeway after the famous
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
figure.
KKK sponsorship was later dropped from the program for the group's failure to fulfill its obligations, and the
Missouri Department of Transportation
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT, ) is a state government organization in charge of maintaining public roadways of the U.S. state of Missouri under the guidance of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. MoDOT designs, ...
adopted specific criteria to prohibit hate groups from future participation. However, the
8th Circuit Court of Appeals
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts:
* Eastern District of Arkansas
* Western Dis ...
ruled that any attempt to bar the Klan from participation in the Adopt-a-Highway program on the basis of the group's purpose is a violation of the
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case, so the ruling stood.
In 2001,
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
denied participation to a gay and lesbian organization. Governor
Bill Janklow
William John Janklow (September 13, 1939January 12, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician and member of the Republican Party who holds the record for the longest tenure as Governor of South Dakota: sixteen years in office. Janklow had the t ...
eventually allowed the group to participate but had sponsor names removed from all adopt-a-highway signs in the state.
In January 2005, the
American Nazi Party adopted a stretch of the rural Sunnyview Road NE outside
Salem
Salem may refer to: Places
Canada
Ontario
* Bruce County
** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie
** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce
* Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. Two signs were put up along the road that bore the names of the American Nazi Party and
NSM. The signs, which cost $500 and were almost immediately subject to
vandalism
Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.
The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...
, have since been removed. The American Nazi Party's chair, Rocky J. Suhayda, claimed to have no association with the Adopt a Highway program.
In 2009, the state of Missouri renamed a section of highway after Rabbi
Abraham Joshua Heschel, because it had been adopted by a neo-Nazi group. Rabbi Heschel fled the Nazis’ advance in Europe and became a prominent theologian and civil rights advocate in the United States before his death in 1972. Rabbi Heschel's daughter opposed this decision.
In 2012, the International Keystone Knights of the KKK submitted an application to adopt a stretch of
Georgia State Route 515
State Route 515 (SR 515) is a four-lane C-shaped state highway in the northern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. It uses a blue state route designation because it is part of the Appalachian Development Highway System. It begins just ...
. The
Georgia Department of Transportation
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the U.S. state of Georgia. In addition to highways, the department also has a limited role in developin ...
denied the application, citing safety concerns and the hate group's history.
In 2012,
PennDOT accepted an Adopt-A-Highway sponsorship along a portion of
Interstate 376 in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
from a local
strip club
A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other Erotic dancing, erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or Bar (establishment), bar style, and can also ...
located in
Downtown Pittsburgh. According to PennDOT officials, strip clubs are permitted, along with any other business, to sponsor such projects, since it keeps the roads clean and saves taxpayers money. Despite the sponsorship, the program does not send
stripper
A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event.
M ...
s to clean the roads, but rather sends workers from the state paid for by the club to clean the highways.
Economically, the program may be viewed as a way of getting around regulations prohibiting billboards next to a highway and on a per-view basis, it is more economical than billboards.
In popular culture
![Adopt-a-highway sign diagram Kramer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Adopt-a-highway_sign_diagram_Kramer.svg)
* In the hit U.S. sitcom ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
'' episode "
The Pothole
"The Pothole" is the 150th episode of the sitcom '' Seinfeld''. This was the 16th episode for the eighth season. It aired on February 20, 1997. In the episode, Jerry is unwilling to kiss his girlfriend after she unknowingly brushes her teeth with ...
" Feb. 20, 1997,
Cosmo Kramer adopts a mile of the fictional Arthur Burghardt Expressway. Kramer proceeds to alter the 4 lane highway to 2 lanes to allow the creation of wider "leisure lanes", which results in major traffic congestion.
* In the ''
American Dad!
''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...
'' episode "
It's Good to Be Queen" Francine comments on the cleanliness of the highway and gives thanks to the Ku Klux Klan.
* The
MU330 song "KKK Hiway" is about the Ku Klux Klan's attempt to sponsor Interstate 55 in lead singer Dan Potthast's hometown of St. Louis ("a few miles away from
ismom's house").
* In the ''
Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...
'' episode "
Krusty Gets Kancelled
"Krusty Gets Kancelled" is the twenty-second and final episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 13, 1993. In the episode, a new show fea ...
",
Bette Midler
Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...
is seen picking up trash along a stretch of highway she has adopted, and causes car crashes for drivers who deliberately litter.
* In Rick Riordan's ''The Trials of Apollo, Book 2: The Dark Prophecy'', the character Apollo finds his destination via an Adopt-a-Highway sign sponsored by the book's antagonist, Triumvirate Holdings.
References
External links
Texas Adopt-a-Highway historyfrom the
Texas Department of Transportation
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...
Web site
Public Litter Removal Programsfrom the
Nevada Department of Transportation
The Nevada Department of Transportation (Nevada DOT or NDOT) is a government agency in the U.S. state of Nevada. NDOT is responsible for maintaining and improving Nevada's highway system, which includes U.S. highways and Interstate highways within ...
Web site
Adopt a Highwayfrom the
British Columbia Ministry of Transportation
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is the British Columbia government ministry responsible for transport infrastructure and law in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is currently led by Rob Fleming.
The ministry is resp ...
Web site
United States Attorneys Hate Crimes Task Force Web SiteLA Car- Your Friendly Nazi Party Adopts a Highway?Adopt A Highway - First Adopt a Highway corporation
st. 1990
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adopt A Highway
Transportation in the United States
Political neologisms
Waste organizations
Tyler, Texas