Caltrans House Decorated in Early Interstate to Make a Point

The California Department of Transportation has collected enough trash from San Diego’s freeways in the last three months to furnish a three-bedroom house in East San Diego, complete with silverware, Beach Boys posters and a surfboard.

In an exercise meant to draw attention to the amount and type of litter people drop on local highways, each bedroom was furnished with a box spring and mattress, and almost every room had a television.

The 1,100-square-foot house, near 40th and Wightman streets, was also fitted by Caltrans litter crews with a porcelain bathtub and an 8-foot-long aluminum ladder. In the kitchen, officials placed a refrigerator and an upright stove with two ovens. Also picked up from a local highway were a washer and dryer set and a water heater.

Except for a clock, none of the mechanical items were in working order. Some items were new but had been damaged when they fell onto the road, probably from the backs of trucks, Caltrans officials said. Many items, such as bottles and cans, were apparently thrown away.

“We used this as an example of the kinds of things that are dropped on the freeway. . . . If you strike an object that size, there’s a great potential for a fatal accident,” Caltrans spokesman Tom Nipper said.

Nipper said that, in the past year, he could recall only one such fatality--when a car rear-ended a truck that had stopped because of litter on the highway--but he warned that “just about anybody can find an object in their way.”

The still-running clock was placed in the house, along with a poster of Yosemite Valley and several oil paintings. The living room contained two couches, a wicker chair, a couple of reclining chairs and a bird cage.

“There were clothes in all of the closets--shirts, pants, entire wardrobes,” Nipper said.

The bathrooms were equipped with towels and carpets, and the refrigerator was stocked with cans and bottles. Lamps, a bookcase, curtains, plates and silverware completed the look. Two trash cans were placed outside by the garage.

Interstate 8 Is the Leader

“Anything we have to remove from the freeway is considered litter,” Nipper said. “Last year, in the San Diego County area, it cost $800,000 to remove freeway litter.”

Last month, more than 1,600 cubic yards of litter was removed from San Diego freeways at a cost of $80,000. Nipper said half the litter collected locally comes from Interstate 8. Interstate 15 is a close second.

The most popular household item found on highways is the mattress; Caltrans finds 50 a month. Aside from paper, bottles and cans, more tires are collected than any other item of litter. Several months ago, an electric pinball game was found on California 78.

Half of all containers found on the highway are for alcoholic beverages, officials said.

Drivers should securely tie down their cargo and invest in cargo nets, which are sold at home goods stores for about $14, Nipper said.

The Caltrans-owned house, originally destined to be torn down to make way for the I-15 extension through 40th Street, will eventually be rented out. Unfurnished.