Today's Why Guy question from Bill McDowell: "Greetings, Walt... Why doesn't Cal Trans clean up the trash on the freeway along Highway 50 near El Dorado Hills?"
OK, Bill, let's take a look. We headed up your way to the specific area mentioned — the El Dorado Hills exit ramp off of Highway 50. We found a fair amount of trash that looks like it's been around for a while.
Cal Trans says it’s a priority to do trash pickup sweeps, but, as soon as they get an entire area cleaned up and bagged for pickup, it doesn't take long for the area to get trashed again.
"I drove through the area this morning and noticed several Adopt-A-Highway bags along the eastbound 50 shoulder from EDH to Cameron Park," said Steve Nelson, a spokesman for Cal Trans. "It can be a few days in between the trash bagging and getting them picked up."
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On our visit to the area, the orange trash collection bags were gone. There was lots of trash, though.
According to Cal Trans, the workers that handle litter patrol do so on a voluntary basis with the Adopt-A-Highway program.
"If the trash starts piling up, we can request they go out more frequently," Nelson said. "We have an online customer service request system and there are three open requests for litter removal in that area."
Cal Trans assured us that they'll have a crew out here this week to get the rest of this picked up. If you're driving around there and still see trash, let us know.
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