Kenosha County launches Adopt-A-Highway program

Kenosha County Adopt-A-Highway is the county’s equivalent to the State of Wisconsin’s long-running program, which gives organizations and individuals the opportunity to serve the community by removing debris and litter alongside roadways.

County Executive Samantha Kerkman and other county officials kicked off the program at an Earth Day event with students at Brighton School.

“I am proud to launch this program today, and this is the perfect time and place to do it,” Kerkman said. “Expanding adopt-a-highway to our county roads offers an organized opportunity for people interested in improving our environment, and their volunteer efforts will serve to make our community that much more beautiful.”

Through the program, people and groups may adopt two-mile sections of any county trunk highway. (City, village and town streets are not part of the program.) Adopters are expected to perform regular cleanup tasks at least two times a year between April 1 and Nov. 1.

The county will provide adopters with safety vests, signs and trash bags, and adopters may choose to be acknowledged on road signs at each end of their adopted segment. There is no cost to the public to participate in the program.

Kerkman acknowledged County Board Supervisors Frederick Brookhouse and Keith Gray for their support of the program, which the board approved unanimously earlier this month.

Brookhouse, who organized a community cleanup group in his Carol Beach neighborhood in Pleasant Prairie, began championing a county adopt-a-highway effort when he joined the County Board last April.

“This clean-highways initiative reflects our pride in our community and fosters a culture of good citizenship,” Brookhouse said.

Gray encouraged the Brighton School students present at today’s event to join with their families in volunteering to cleanup along roadsides — something he said he was already doing on his own before the program’s inception.

“At the end of the day, when you see all of those garbage bags that you filled up, it really makes you feel good inside,” Gray said.

Two stretches of county highway are already adopted — sections of Highway BD in Brighton that were previously adopted under the state program before what was then Highway 75 transferred to county jurisdiction late last year.

One of these areas is adopted in honor of the late local veterinarian Kevin Nelson, whose widow, Deanna Hertrich, was on hand for the unveiling of the Kenosha County Adopt-A-Highway sign at today’s event.

Kerkman credited County Board Supervisors Laura Belsky and Erin Decker for the input that they provided on the program logo, which was designed by Kerkman’s Office Administrator and Community Engagement Coordinator, Jill Rozell.

The county executive also thanked Brighton School and its Administrator, Carrie Reid, for
hosting the Adopt-A-Highway kickoff.

More information about the Kenosha County Adopt-A-Highway program, including a fillable form to indicate interest in adopting a section of highway, can be found at
https://www.kenoshacountywi.gov/AdoptAHighway.