Large rocks have been placed underneath the Mulberry Street Bridge, the site of a former homeless encampment.
Officials have recently employed a new method to deter an encampment from returning to the Mulberry Street Bridge in Harrisburg.
The PA Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has dumped large rocks under the bridge at the former site of a long-time homeless encampment that was cleared by the city.
In January, the city evicted dozens of people living in the encampment, citing health and safety concerns, and cleaned and exterminated the area, which officials said was infested with rats. They also installed a fence to keep people from returning while cleaning was taking place.
PennDOT, which owns the property underneath the bridge, took over the lease for the fence from the city in May.
However, according to Fritzi Schreffler, PennDOT District 8 safety press officer, people have since breached the fence. PennDOT worked with state Capitol Police to move those people off the property where officials found signs of drug paraphernalia, she said.
Piles of rocks were then placed in the area to deter people from returning. While PennDOT doesn’t know how long the fencing will remain, Schreffler said the rocks will remain long-term.
“Nobody wants to move out a homeless encampment,” she said. “But it was time for us to reclaim our space. It really came down to public safety and health.”
After the Mulberry Street Bridge eviction, officials with the city and local homelessness providers shared that occupants moved to another large encampment near the PennDOT building and the I-83 bridge in south Harrisburg. Others entered treatment facilities and shelters, and some reunited with families, officials said.
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