Working on the highway

Teams from Martin Marietta's Central and Southwest divisions took part in adopt-a-highway programs

With the help of team members throughout the company, Martin Marietta is not only supplying the materials to make our community roads, they are making sure those roads stay litter-free.

As a part of several sites’ community and environmental sustainability efforts, dedicated ONE team members are banding together to keep our streets beautiful.

A group of 10 Minnesota District team members volunteered to clean up trash along Highway 169 in Elk River, Minnesota, which is home to four Martin Marietta aggregate pits and one asphalt plant.

The April event was part of the district’s commitment to the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Adopt a Highway program.

“Sponsoring a section of highway and completing clean-up events is a wonderful way to give back to the communities in which we operate,” said Minnesota District Land Manager Marian Kramer after she and the team collected 40 bags of trash along a 4-mile stretch.

Elsewhere in the state, a group of 20 participants worked to clean up Red Rock Road, which leads to Martin Marietta’s St. Paul Asphalt Plant. That team filled nearly 60 industrial trash bags with refuse that will now be kept out of the surrounding waterways.

Meanwhile, two states south in Missouri, the Randolph Mine leadership team came together in March to clear a stretch along Randolph Highway Road and Missouri Route 210.

While collecting hundreds of pounds of trash, the team worked incredibly well together and enjoyed themselves, said Area Production Manager Chris Bollinger.

“We all came together and did a great job cleaning trash,” he said. “This community project had a great impact.”

At the beginning of April, the Southwest Division’s Sawyer Quarry conducted one of their bi-annual highway cleanups, with a group of 20 people volunteering to collect roadside litter in Oklahoma.

Their efforts amounted to about 50 industrial trash bags of garbage as well as a truck bed full of large debris.

“It is great to be out here as stewards of the environment and helping the community,” said Safety Lead Tyler Brown, who helped organize the event. “Little things like this keep our communities safe, healthy and clean.”

Similarly, teams from Bridgeport Stone and North Bridgeport Quarry also collected trash along two miles of adopted highway in North Texas.

“Having volunteers from both sites come together reinforced that Martin Marietta truly operates as ONE team,” said Safety Lead Miguel Salinas. “It showed that our employees care about their work and are deeply committed to giving back to their community.”