North Carolina Department of Transportation contractors removed about 45 tons of trash and debris along an Interstate 40 exit ramp in Raleigh last month.
The material was associated with a homeless camp that had grown up where the eastbound I-40 off-ramp meets South Saunders Street.
Raleigh police worked for months to convince people living in the camp to leave before NCDOT sent in the cleanup crew in late March. Through the city’s ACORNS program, a team of social workers and police officers work to connect people who are homeless, addicted to drugs or have mental health issues with organizations that can help them.
Up to 20 people lived at the South Saunders Street site in the winter of 2023, according to Raleigh police. Only one person was present when contractors arrived March 20, NCDOT spokeswoman Kim Deaner said.
The cleanup took three days and cost about $26,000, Deaner said.
A growing problem for NCDOT
Homeless encampments are a growing problem for NCDOT in the Triangle and across the state. As the number of unhoused people increases, many are drawn to busy highway interchanges and intersections where they demand money from passing drivers.
NCDOT developed an approach to cleaning up such sites that it first used with a large homeless camp at I-540 and Capital Boulevard in North Raleigh starting in 2022. Before calling in contractors with trash cans, NCDOT is working with police and social service agencies to ensure that people living in the camp are offered assistance with housing and other needs and that no one is still living there, a process that can take months.
To try to discourage people from returning, NCDOT clears brush that may conceal a camp and posts “No Trespassing” signs to encourage police and the department to prevent people from setting up.
NCDOT posted no trespassing signs Monday on a parcel of land where U.S. 70 and U.S. 401 split and converge on the Raleigh-Garner line. The department became aware of an encampment there in February and since then, staff from ACORNS and nonprofit groups have visited several times, offering assistance to those living there, Deaner said.
Raleigh police also issued notices asking people to leave the area.
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