UF-ITE Student Chapter Adopt-A-Highway Program

The University of Florida student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) recently joined the Adopt-A-Highway (AAH) program. AAH is a program of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in which volunteers clean up roadside litter four times a year or more often if needed. Pedro Maldonado, the president of the ITE student chapter at UF, hopes that through this program, the student chapter will significantly help the community and will increase awareness of the transportation profession.

Maldonado, with the help of Tyler Valila, ITE student chapter fundraiser chair, and Melanie Evans, FDOT permits coordinator, completed the necessary forms and agreements over a three-month period, beginning in early May 2017. By August 2017, FDOT had installed road signs and sent official documents. The ITE chapter at UF adopted 1.682 miles of the state road 13th Street from the milepost 19.485 to 21.167.

The first cleaning event will be on Sunday, October 15th, 2017, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. All ITE members are encouraged to participate in the event. The ITE student chapter board members have received the required FDOT safety training to conduct the cleaning activity. They will be recycling all bottles and aluminum cans from the adopted street segment by taking them to a recycling center.

Maldonado said, “ITE has one goal, and that is to keep our streets clean and contribute to the beauty of our community by creating an awareness among our members of the importance of keeping our roads clean and not throwing trash on the streets. AAH is one of the initiatives ITE has chosen to give back to our community showing our spirit as Transportation Engineers.”

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