Highway Department: Adopt-A-Highway

6915 W. Plank Road, Peoria, Illinois 61604. Office Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.
Tel: (309) 697-6400, Fax: (309) 697-6446

Adopt-A-Highway is a community involvement program that brings citizen volunteers into partnership with the Peoria County Highway Department. Each volunteer group "adopts" or becomes responsible for a section of highway and agrees to remove litter along this stretch of highway a minimum of four times a year over a two year period of time. The Highway Department will erect signs identifying the adopting group and will provide safety vests, trash bags, temporary warning signs, and initial safety training. In addition, the Highway Department will remove and dispose filled bags at the completion of litter removal.

Some ground rules for potential adopters:

• Safety meetings must be held before going out to pick up litter.
• Adequate supervision must be provided for anyone under 18. The minimum age to pick up litter is 10 years old. We require one adult per every 5 youths.
• Park all vehicles off of the roadway. No parking will be allowed along curves, on bridge decks, near or under overpasses, or in median areas.
• No planting or mowing is allowed by adopting groups. This maintenance will be performed by the Peoria County Highway Department.
• Groups must place litter in trash bags provided by the Highway Department. The filled bags are to be left in a predetermined location along the highway for pickup.
• No drugs or alcohol will be carried or consumed by any group member during litter cleanup.
• Groups must stay off of the highway at all times.
• Large, inappropriate, corrosive, biohazardous materials, or any other material deemed unsafe to collect by the adopters should be marked for pickup or the location reported back to the Highway Department for clean up.
• Groups are allowed to keep any cans or trash metals if desired.
• In case of emergency, each group should have a first aid kit readily available, as well as a vehicle ready for emergency transportation to the nearest hospital.

Recommended pickup times are April/May, June/July, August/September, and October/November.

If a group wishes to terminate their contract, they must do so in writing to the County Engineer at the Peoria County Highway Department Office.

For more information contact Thomas J. McFarland, County Engineer, or Richard Childress, Highway Operations Officer.