Locals speak out about RR 1431 litter
A state road sign warns against littering along RR 1431 in Marble Falls. Locals on social media posts say they have noticed an increase in litter along the connector between Marble Falls, Granite Shoals, and Kingsland. Staff photo by Brigid Cooley
Highland Lakes residents recently took to social media to discuss the amount of roadside trash along the stretch of RR 1431 between Marble Falls and Kingsland. A Nextdoor Marble Falls post by Kingsland resident Holly Morris received more than 50 comments from others who shared her frustration.
“We just moved to this area and it’s so beautiful. EXCEPT the roadside trash along beautiful 1431 all the way from Marble Falls to Kingsland is just disgusting!” Morris wrote.
Ranch Road 1431 is maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation.
The department is aware of the debris issue and takes it seriously, Public Information Officer Christopher Bishop said in a July 29 statement to DailyTrib.com. The department contracts Bootstraps Occupational Services to clean up trash along 1431 to address the issue.
“(RR) 1431 is picked up every two months due to the large amounts of trash in that area,” Bishop said. “The (right-of-way) along 1431 is narrow and makes the trash very visible. The contractor is working in the county right now, and should be on (RR) 1431 next week or the following week.”
While the stretch of road between Marble Falls and Kingsland does get large amounts of litter, it is hard to determine what causes the buildup in this area, he continued.
“Fighting litter is never-ending; trash can show up just hours after a stretch of highway right-of-way is cleaned up,” Bishop said. “Some (trash) certainly could be blowing in from areas off the highway, and some could be from traffic passing through to the lake areas.”
In addition to hired crews, portions of 1431 are cleaned up by three community groups through the Adopt-A-Highway program. Volunteers commit to picking up litter along a 2-mile stretch of their adopted highway up to four times a year and are provided supplies, including trash bags and safety vests.
Deborah Guinn, activity director for Camp Champions, a summer camp in Marble Falls, shared some of the camp’s experience with the Adopt-a-Highway program.
“Camp Champions has adopted a section right by Highland Haven” Guinn posted on Nextdoor. “Unfortunately, with Covid this last year, we didn’t have enough employees to pick up our section so it sat and collected for a year. It distressed me that we couldn’t fulfill our obligation. However, with camp back in full swing, we have picked up on our section three times this summer … it still doesn’t look like it, but please believe me when I say we have done so!”
Another 2-mile stretch of RR 1431 is available for future adoption, Bishop said.
He suggests people visit the Don’t Mess with Texas roadside campaign website to learn more about how to keep Texas roadsides clean.
6 thoughts on “Locals speak out about RR 1431 litter”
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What happened to people who are supposed to be doing community service hours for whatever crimes they’ve committed?
It’s not just that stretch of 1431. Lots of trash and construction debris land along 2545 and 2900 also. It flies out of truck beds, bounces off of trailers and out of trailered boats. Then old furniture is just dumped along the right of way. It’s more than just unsightly. It shows a lack of respect for property and our community…as well as being hazardous to drivers.
The litter is not only on hwy 1431 I live in Granite Shoals people are always dumping trash it’s disgusting beer cans old carpet an old ice chest a small propane bottle an old couch old car seat line the road to the road I actually live on . My neighbor and I clean our road however it’s a daily job beer cans bottles lunch trash I’m sick to death of it . I wish law enforcement would get strict about this trash if they wrote a few fines it might stop
see what happens when californians and new yorkers invade our state..
just wait another until they start voting…
This is one of the most ignorant posts I’ve ever seen. New York and California have nothing to do with the litter along 1431. People have always thrown trash out of their windows and dumped illegally. Get off of here with that crap.
Kenny: Your accusatory comment is a prime example of what is wrong in our world today.
Paula