Adopt-a-Highway

Olmsted County Adopt-A-Highway Program’s Volunteers help keep county roads clean and create a cleaner environment.

Community groups, churches, individuals, or businesses adopt a highway by picking up litter on both sides of a road at least two times per year for at least two years. Each section is approximately two miles (three kilometers) long.

Adopt-A-Highway Interactive Map
map

How to adopt-a-highway

1. Gather your information

  • Choose someone to represent your group. (This is the person that will sign the agreement on behalf of the group. This person must be at least 18 years old.)
  • An email address we can use to send you the permit.
  • The section of road you are interested in adopting.
  • The name (of your group) that you want to appear on the Adopt-A-Highway sign.

2. View & agree to the terms & conditions

  1. The group agrees to pick up litter on a segment of county road selected in consultation with Olmsted County. The recommended length is approximately two miles. At Olmsted County's discretion, certain highways may not be eligible.
  2. Litter must be picked up a minimum of two times a year - during daylight hours only. The spring pickup should be made as soon as conditions permit and the other in late fall. Pickups may not be allowed at certain times such as on or near holidays. Please call 328-7060 after you have done your pick-up so it can be logged. 
  3. The group contact representative must be age 18 or older. The group shall provide adequate supervision to participants eighteen years of age or younger. Unless specifically permitted, children 11 or younger shall not participate.
  4. Work shall be limited to the area between the outer shoulders and the right-of-way boundary. Participants shall not pick up litter in the median unless specifically permitted by Olmsted County. Work may not be done on the roadway itself.
  5. If vests and trash bags are needed, the group shall obtain their vests and trash bags during regular business hours.
  6. The group shall place filled and tied trash bags on the shoulder slope, in as few piles as possible. Olmsted County will arrange to pick up the bags. Groups are encouraged to recycle appropriate material for their own benefit. Please tie the bags shut to ensure garbage is not blown around if bag tips over.
  7. Borrowed or unused supplies shall be returned to the Olmsted County office within one week of cancellation of the Adopt-A-Highway program.
  8. Adopt-A-Highway signs are the property of Olmsted County and no advertising or other information shall be attached to the sign.

PRECAUTIONS: Do not open containers of any kind. Call 507-328-7060 or Law Enforcement (507-328-6810) with questions. High visibility vests must be worn and heavy leather gloves are recommended for doing cleanups.

Olmsted County agrees to:

  1. Provide high visibility vests & trash bags.
  2. Arrange to remove filled trash bags from the adopted highway.
  3. Arrange to remove large, heavy or hazardous material from the adopted highway.
  4. Erect a highway sign or otherwise recognize the group's clean-up efforts. Highway signs shall be erected only for groups that agree to adopt a highway for a minimum of two years. The name on the sign shall be limited to two lines of eighteen to twenty characters (including spaces). Olmsted County reserves the right to approve and/or edit names or acronyms.

3. Submit your request

Select the available section of roadway from the interactive map in the link below. Then fill out this form with your information. If you have additional questions, call 507-328-7060.

View Adopt a Highway Interactive Map

4. Sign the permit

After we've confirmed the road you want to adopt, we'll email you an AAH permit with the information that you have provided already filled in. Olmsted County uses DocuSign for electronic signatures. Instructions for opening and signing the document will be included in your email. DocuSign software is NOT required.

Review the permit for accuracy. If you need any changes made, contact us as soon as possible.

If everything in the document is correct, then electronically sign it and click Finish. It will automatically be emailed to the Public Works Director/County Engineer for approval and signature.

After it's signed by the Public Works Director/County Engineer, we'll send you a copy for your records.

We'll then have our Public Works Sign Shop make an Adopt-A-Highway sign and place it on either end of the section you have adopted.

5. If you need vests & bags

At least 24 hours before your scheduled clean up day, email us or call us to request safety vests and trash bags. We will need to know:

  • How many vests are needed.
  • Vest sizes (medium/large, X-large, 2X, or 3X).

Pick up the items at:

Public Works Service Center
1188 50th St SE, Rochester MN 55904

Items will be packaged with your group’s name and placed at the front desk for pick up between the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A maximum of two weeks is allowed for pick up. After that, you will need to call and reschedule.

6. After cleanup day

Call us or email us and let us know you've finished the cleanup.

  • Group name or contact name.
  • Date of the clean up.
  • Location of the garbage bags.

We will log your accomplishment and send out staff to pick up the garbage bags.

You may keep the vests and bags until you decide to give up the section. When you give up the section, please return the vests and any unused bags to the Olmsted County Public Works Service Center at 1188 50th St SE, Rochester, MN.