ST. GEORGE — Over 300 volunteers scoured Interstate 15 Friday morning from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. for the first Regional Clean-up Project. The City of St. George teamed up with other Washington County cities and groups to add a shine to the area.
“Many hands make light work,” David Cordero, communications and marketing director of St. George City, said. “We were able to clean a very significant part of the gateway into our city hall to the north and south today.
“I’d say 70% of them were city employees. And then we had a couple of groups that were out there too. There’s Dixie State University athletics, a mixture of staff and athletes, and Stephen Wade Auto Center had a contingency of people out there as well.”
Other municipalities involved in the clean-up included Ivins, Santa Clara, Washington City, Hurricane, Toquerville, LaVerkin, Washington County and the Utah Department of Transportation.
St. George City has done past clean-ups in major thoroughfares within the town. They have focused on Red Hills Parkway a couple of times per year.
Cordero said the two driving factors in the event were the pandemic lessening the routine clean-up from the county inmates and upcoming events.
“With COVID, the county inmates still do clean-up but not as often,” he said. “And so, we took it upon ourselves to pick up the slack and try to put our city’s best foot forward and continue to be a clean city.”
Cordero also said the city wanted to “polish and prepare” for events such as the 43rd Annual St. George Art Festival and the Ironman World Championship.
While beautification was one major goal, safety was another.
“We made sure that everyone had reflective vests and they stayed clear of the shoulder of the freeway,” Cordero said. “And when possible, we were behind the concrete barriers, and it wasn’t always possible. We carpooled in groups and if our city vehicles have lights, we utilize those. I think we did this day very safely.”
Sharice Walker, project communications manager, Utah Department of Transportation Region Four, said litter on the roadways is more than just an eyesore; it costs taxpayers $2.5 million per year.
There were also 1,800 crashes related to litter and trash loads not securely fastened down in Utah. Walker said injuries due to litter-related crashes harmed 530 Utahans.
“I don’t have the numbers for last year yet, but it’s definitely an eyesore for us,” Walker said.
We live in a beautiful place and the trash detracts from the natural beauty around us. Still, it’s also a safety issue.
People are responsible for ensuring their waste loads are secure in the beds of their trucks. Once a vehicle gets up to freeway speed, she said trash would fly out if not secured or covered. Utah’s afternoon wind also adds to the problem of flying debris, she said.
Another concern UDOT has is that individuals may think it doesn’t matter if they toss out something from their window onto the road.
“Anybody who thinks that one thing thrown from a window won’t make a difference needs to look around,” Walker said. “Every effort we can make to prevent litter from getting to the road is huge. The clean-up effort is so hard.”
The Regional Clean-up Project covered a total of 20 miles of freeway. The areas included the Port of Entry, Mileposts 1-13 on I-15 and State Route 9. Walker was impressed with how many people turned out.
“We appreciate the collaboration and the creativity from our municipal partners and coordinating on an event like this,” Walker said. “It was very successful.”
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