ALDOT crews pick up litter for spring clean up operation in Tuscaloosa

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ( WIAT ) — ALDOT work crews spent Tuesday picking up 400 bags of litter they collected along Highway 69 South all the way to the Hale County line, it’s the annual spring clean up project.

ALDOT spokesperson John McWilliams says the goal is to promote cleaner and safer roadways. 100 ALDOT workers participated in the litter clean up operation.

“We want to bring awareness about litter in Alabama, and it’s something that can easily be fixed, but it’s going to take everyone of us to do our part to make sure our roadways stay clear of litter,” said McWilliams.

All eight districts within the West Central Region spent Tuesday picking up litter on various state routes to promote cleaner and safer roadways. Engineer Lyndi Blackburn says during last year’s spring clean, ALDOT crews gathered nearly 5,000 pounds of litter.

“We only get this one environment and this one world, and we need to try to preserve it, and maintain it, and it’s really simple, don’t throw your trash out,” Blackburn said. “Alabama the beautiful needs to stay beautiful, so the first thing people see when they come into the state is our roadways. And for the roads be covered in litter doesn’t say a lot about our state.”

ALDOT spent nearly $9 million on litter cleanup throughout the state in fiscal year 2023, an increase from $7.34 million in fiscal year 2022.

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