GOSHEN COUNTY – May is the month for spring cleaning, and Wyoming’s highways and byways are no exception.
Volunteer groups and individuals will be out this month, helping keep the roadsides clean along the interstates and highways as part of the Wyoming Department of Transportation Spring Clean Fling. A group of Torrington city employees already took to the roadsides along State Hwy. 26 on the east side of town earlier this month to gather, bag and dispose of trash, cans, paper and other debris laying along the road.
“WYDOT values and appreciates the efforts of the Adopt-A-Highway volunteer groups,” state Maintenance Engineer Kent Ketterling said. “The commitment and dedication shown by these groups to keep the roadsides around their communities clean is a testament to the quality of citizens we have in our great state.”
WyDOT annually spends around $2.5 million for litter control, Director Bill Panos said. Without the help of volunteers who adopt a section of highway in or near their communities, litter control expenses would be significantly greater, he said.
The agency supplies clean-up volunteers with collection bags and orange safety vests to use on cleanup days. Local WyDOT offices can supply clean-up crews with everything they need.
“Volunteers should always make their own personal safety their top priority,” Ketterling said. “Volunteers are required by law to always wear their orange vests since they are working near traffic.”
In the past, volunteers have removed about 50 tons of litter from the highways. Adopt-A-Highway volunteers include members of fraternal, civic and social clubs, employee and professional organizations, churches, governmental agencies, families and retirees.
When a group adopts a highway, WYDOT places a sign designating that section of road as that particular group’s.
WYDOT officials asks volunteers to be on the lookout for dangerous objects such as broken glass, needles, sharp metal objects and exposed nails when picking up trash. Volunteers should carefully put those next to their bagged garbage for pickup.
Volunteers also should not pick up abandoned containers with unknown substances because they could be dangerous. Instead, volunteers should tell WYDOT about it.
For more information about adopting an section of highway in Goshen, Platte, Natrona, Converse, Niobrara, northern Carbon and southern Johnson counties, call (307) 745-2100.
