Tarleton students maintain 30 miles of TxDOT Adopt-a-Highway

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STEPHENVILLE (April 10, 2015) — The annual Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off, the state’s largest single-day litter cleanup event, will be Saturday, April 11, and Tarleton State University student organizations involved in the Texas Department of Transportation-sponsored Adopt-a-Highway program will join the effort.

In cooperation with TxDOT and its grassroots partner, Keep Texas Beautiful, student volunteers will once again pick up litter and trash from Erath County roadways.

To join Saturday’s Trash-Off, groups and individuals can sign up now at www.ktb.org or call 1-800-CLEAN-TX (253-2689). Registration is free, easy and required for participation. By signing up, volunteers receive trash bags, safety vests and other cleanup supplies in order to have a successful day of litter pickup.

“We’re expecting another impressive turnout of Keep Texas Beautiful and Adopt-a-Highway volunteers,” said Brian Barth, TxDOT Fort Worth District Engineer. “Last year, more than 80,000 volunteers removed about 7 million pounds of trash during the Trash-Off. If current volunteers encourage their friends to participate this Saturday, we can collect even more of the trash along our roadways and reduce the number of taxpayer dollars spent on litter pickup.”

The Trash-Off is part of TxDOT’s litter prevention program and, along with Don’t Mess with Texas and Adopt-a-Highway, aims to change the attitudes and behaviors of would-be litterers and works toward a litter-free future.

Tarleton’s student organizations and hundreds of individuals from the university have partnered with the local TxDOT office by engaging in the Adopt-a-Highway program for more than a decade. In all, 15 student groups affiliated with Tarleton currently have formal agreements with TxDOT, adopting 30 miles of highway within Erath County.

The Adopt-a-Highway program requires student organizations to “adopt” a two-mile stretch of state highway and hold clean-ups four times per year. Tarleton organizations currently participating in the program and their segment of roadway are:
• Alpha Gamma Delta – US 377 from Marker 364-366
• Alpha Gamma Rho – FM 8 from Marker 508-510
• Alpha Phi Omega – US 281 start approx. 1 mile south from US 377
• Beta Beta Beta – FM 205 from Marker 510-512
• Delta Chi – From US 67 intersection on FM 914 (Marker 308-310)
• Delta Zeta – FM 8 for two miles from Marker 508-510
• Kappa Delta Chi – US 281 from US 377 intersection (Marker 326-328)
• Kappa Delta Rho – US 377 from Marker 364-366 ending at city limits
• Lambda Chi Alpha – US 377 for two miles from Erath to Hood County Line
• Sigma Alpha – BUS 377 from intersection of US 281/BUS 377 merge
• Sigma Chi – US 67 / 377 intersection from Marker 514-516
• TSU Student Wildlife Society – FM 205 starting at CR 178 to Marker 514
• Tarleton Professional Educators – US 281 starting at ending of APO site
• TSU Plowboys – US 67 from near US 281 intersection for 2 miles towards Glen Rose
• TSU Student Government Association – US 377 from Marker 363-365