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Practice

Litter and debris removal procedure

Below is a description of how Maryland normally handles litter and debris removal in expressway/freeway travel lanes by SHA maintenance forces: A maintenance vehicle (usually a dump truck) is assigned to a certain section of roadway. It carries workers (usually individuals who are performing community service as a result of being convicted of crimes) and tows a trailer with a portable bathroom. The supervisor of the crew is an SHA maintenance employee. The vehicle arrives along the segment of the roadway and parks on the shoulder. The crew dismounts and walks along the section of roadway shoulder, picking up litter and debris and depositing it in the back of the dump truck. When a certain length of roadway had been cleared, the dump truck moves forward. The process repeats until the entire section (or sections of roadway) have been cleaned. In the event that a large piece of debris is observed in a travel lane, the normal protocol is for the SHA worker (i.e. the supervisor) to wait for traffic to clear and then go into the travel lane to retrieve the debris.

State/Agency: Maryland
Topics: Maintenance Practices

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