Show Arizona some love on her birthday: Adopt a highway

Arizona is looking pretty good for turning 108, which happens on this Valentine's Day. Please allow me to suggest one way we can ensure this centenarian continues to look her best. Adopt a highway. The Adopt a Highway program is an opportunity to help out your community while also making sure Arizona presents her best side.

The Adopt a Highway program isn’t nearly as old as our state, but like Arizona it is still going strong. It began in 1988 under then-Gov. Rose Mofford. In the first couple of years, 100 organizations collected litter along 200 miles of freeway. Today there are more than 900 groups picking up litter along 1,600 miles of Arizona highways. But there is still more to do, and more volunteers are needed.

More than 51 billion pieces of litter are left on roads across the country. That translates to more than 6,700 pieces of trash per mile! While the Adopt a Highway Volunteer program has hundreds of volunteers, there are still hundreds of unadopted miles that could use some love. So, if you want to show the Valentine State your love, please look into the ADOT Adopt a Highway program.