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Why Adopt?

"Personal involvement has proven to be the best way to keep our roads clean. The Adopt-a-Highway program costs nothing for individual groups like businesses and civic organizations to get involved, and in return for their efforts, they gain public recognition."

—Billy Black, Co-Founder, Adopt-a-Highway

It's a free and easy way for groups to help their communities, make a visible impact and earn some well-deserved Texas pride.
The Dallas area, and Texas as a whole, is growing by leaps and bounds. A surging population means more cars on our roadways, and unfortunately, more trash.
Statewide, nearly 90 percent of litter on our highways is removed by paid contractors—not by convicts as many folks assume. Volunteer efforts reduce litter cleanup costs and save taxpayer dollars.

How much of a difference does adopting make?

Miles = savings. Statewide, volunteers clean almost 8,000 miles of roadway each year – about 10 percent of Texas' state-maintained roads. This saves taxpayers approximately $2.5 million per year. In the Dallas area, approximately 660 miles of roadway are currently adopted with a cost savings of more than $100,000 per year.
Beauty is the reward. Your ounce of prevention enables the state to use more tax dollars on highway beautification rather than trash pickup.
Motorists respond. Seeing volunteers at work resonates with would-be offenders. Research has shown that Adopt-a-Highway roadsides are generally less littered than those maintained by road crews.
It gives us a jump-start. The number of groups adopting in recent years has reached a plateau of around 3,800 at a time when Texas has more miles of road and more drivers than ever. In the Dallas area, there are currently 156 groups participating in the Adopt-a-Highway program. Please join the effort to keep our local roadways litter free.