Maintenance

Adopt-A-Highway (AAH)

About Adopt-A-highway

The Iowa DOT has an ongoing partnership with the citizens of Iowa to help maintain the appearance of our roadsides throughout the state. This program also helps increase public awareness of environmental needs along Iowa highways by making sections of roadsides available for adoption.

The Iowa Department of Transportation has jurisdiction over the primary highway system. These highways are the interstate, US and Iowa highways. Therefore only these roadways can be adopted through the Iowa Adopt-A-Highway Program.

• An average of 1,247 groups participate in Iowa's Adopt-A-Highway program each year. (FY 2016)
• These groups help keep approximately 27 percent of the state's roadways litter-free. (FY 2016)
• In FY 2016, volunteers collected approximately 1,972 bags of litter.
• Iowa DOT employees spent 1,973 hours disposing of trash picked up by Adopt-A-Highway volunteers and an additional 210,318 hours picking up litter from the roadways. (FY 2016)