Depending on your point of view, the refuse strewn along Interstate 20 is either trash or treasure.

But for the construction crews building the new I-20 and Bobby Jones Expressway interchange, some of it is art.

Since January, workers have been decorating the fence encircling the Georgia Department of Transportation's project office on Scott Nixon Memorial Drive with hubcaps and rims -- jostled loose as cars pass through the work zone.

The collage of chrome not only serves to brighten up the drab white trailers serving as the DOT's base of operations for the project, but also is a reminder to the workers of what can go wrong if the road isn't laid just right.

Mike Keene, the area engineer for the DOT, said an employee for one of the consulting firms on the project was the first to collect the hubcaps.

"Now he jokes around and says that's going to be his retirement," Mr. Keene said. "He's going to sell hubcaps."

The Chronicle's request to interview the man was denied by his firm, Moreland Altobelli Associates.

Lately, the collection has morphed into a game, with workers trying to get the highest-priced hubcap or to complete a set. So far, a set of three Kia hubcaps has come the closest, Mr. Keene said.

"Now they are all trying to see who can come up with the most exotic one," he said. "Like Jaguar stuff."

It's not unusual for highway workers to find other items bumped from someone's trailer or just dumped along the road.

Every now and then though, someone gets lucky.

While working on Interstate 16 in Dublin, Ga., Mr. Keene said one man found several thousand dollars near the highway.

"He was out on the road doing some stuff, and he found something like $9,000 in cash," Mr. Keene said.

As far as he knows, the police still have the money, he said.