Combined effort
Caltrans works to remove trash along Highway 108 in tandem with volunteer-led project
Caltrans is hoping maintenance crews will be able to complete a project on Friday to clean up a longstanding environmental hazard on property the agency owns along Highway 108 behind the Lowe’s Home Improvement store in Sonora.
The timing of the agency’s work that began on Monday coincides with a community cleanup effort led by a local volunteer group called #1pileatatime on private property in the same area, which started last weekend and is scheduled to continue on Saturday.
“1pile’s interest wasn’t what spurred us to do the clean up,” said Rick Estrada, spokesman for Caltrans’ District 10 that covers Tuolumne County. “I personally have known about it, our maintenance supervisor has known about it, but it was just a matter of getting time in our schedule.”
A recent post from the Facebook account for Caltrans District 10 described some of the work that was completed Monday and generated much discussion, with more than 262 comments mostly from people who say they live in the area.
The post stated that old appliances, car batteries, many pieces of broken furniture and piles of trash were among the items hauled about by District 10 maintenance crews and contractor Dillard Environmental Services, while the California Highway Patrol helped with traffic on the 108 that was reduced to onelane for several hours.
Piles of rotting food had also drawn rodents to the area, and several mounds of trash contained environmentally hazardous chemical bottles, gas cans and oil cans.
Estrada said it became clear that the amount of debris to clear was going to take more than one day,
so they plan to return about 9:30 a.m. Friday with more manpower and additional trash containers in hopes of completing the work by about 4 p.m. as long as the weather permits.
“We knew it has been a problem, but the thing is it's not very visible because it's behind Lowe's,” he said.
One-way traffic controls will be in place while the work is underway on Friday, and Estrada encouraged motorists to find an alternate route if possible.
Some of the commenters on the agency's post were critical of it citing illegal dumping and trash flying off of unsecured loads by vehicles driving along Highway 108, because the area has also been the location of a known homeless encampment for many years.
There were also comments on the post from several people crediting #1pileatatime's efforts for inspiring the agency to spring into action.
Estrada said that while the agency's cleanup is part of its own districtwide emphasis on debris and litter removal along highways, it also appreciated community-led efforts and encouraged such groups to participate in its adopt-a-highway program.
“We encourage any groups to reach out to us,” he said.
How much trash the agency has already removed will not be available until a full accounting is down next week after the project is complete, though Estrada said he was told they filled at least two 20-yard garbage containers on Monday.
Trisha Revord, cofounder of #1pileatatime, said her group had been in communication with Caltrans and was planning to clean up litter on its property as well but was told they would not be able to shut down the highway as required unless it was an emergency.
Revord said they were told by Caltrans at 3 p.m. Friday before their project was supposed to begin the following morning that they would need a one-day encroachment permit to access the adjacent private property that was also littered with trash, though they were able to secure the permit within 45 minutes.
Whether it's done by volunteers or a government agency, Revord said the ultimate goal is to clean up the landscape.
“What's important is getting the trash out of there,” she said.
About 50 to 60 volunteers joined the group for Saturday's cleanup and filled as many as 500 bags of trash, Revord estimated. The group is only focusing on the private property adjacent to the Caltrans property while the agency works on that.
Much of the trash appeared to be left behind from the homeless encampment that existed for years until people who lived there received trespassing notices earlier this year from the Sonora Police Department on behalf of the property owner.
The group will return to the area at 8 a.m. Saturday, and volunteers hope to have everything on the private property bagged up before 3 p.m. They plan to have the bagged-up trash hauled out by big rig trailers on March 27 and 28 and have been raising money to cover the costs that they anticipate will be between $15,000 and $20,000.
Revord said anyone is still welcome to join them for the clean up on Saturday, but they must be 16 or older. Those younger than 18 must also have a waiver form signed by a parent or legal guardian. Go to the group's Facebook page for more information.