Great Lakes Wire

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will hold its final Adopt-A-Highway cleanup of the year from September 20 to September 28. Volunteers from across the state will participate in this third and last scheduled pickup period for 2025.

According to MDOT, the Adopt-A-Highway program started in 1990 and now includes about 2,600 groups maintaining over 6,000 miles of state highway. Last year, volunteers collected more than 36,000 bags of trash through these efforts.

“Motorists should be on the lookout for the groups as they clean the roadsides beginning Saturday. Safety is a top priority for the program. When working in a highway right of way, volunteers wear high-visibility, yellow-green safety vests required by federal regulations. MDOT provides free vests and trash bags and arranges to haul away the trash.”

The program welcomes a range of participants including civic organizations, businesses, and families. To take part, group members must be at least 12 years old and each group must have at least three people. Groups are expected to adopt a section of highway for at least two years, with no participation fee required. Each adopted stretch features signage displaying the group's name.

There are still sections of highway available for adoption statewide. More information can be found at www.Michigan.gov/AdoptAHighway.