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Pawtucket, state work on solution to clean up underpasses


Trash lies under a highway underpass on Interstate 95 in Pawtucket. (WJAR){ }
Trash lies under a highway underpass on Interstate 95 in Pawtucket. (WJAR)
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Trash is continuing to pile up on Interstate 95 in Pawtucket near several underpasses.

A week after NBC 10 News first reported the issue, little appears to have been done to fix the problem.

According to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, it's the agency's policy to have the local municipality work with the occupants of any encampment to find solutions. Then they said once the site is vacated and their possessions are removed, RIDOT crews will clean up the rest.

NBC 10 observed several people taking shelter at the underpasses, using the structure and blankets to block the wind.

"They do go to shelters during the night, if there's room but then they're kicked out during the day, and they're forced to carry their belongings with them wherever they go," said Rep. Cherie Cruz in a previous interview with NBC 10.

In a statement to NBC 10 on Tuesday, a spokesperson said, “RIDOT has not yet received confirmation from the City that the site has been vacated and the individuals’ personal possessions have been removed.”

The spokesperson said it is RIDOT's policy to have the local municipality do that first before sending its own crews to clean up the rest.

Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien is currently out of town. A city spokesperson told NBC 10 News that they are hoping to resolve the issue as soon as possible and that "we are working with RIDOT to get it cleaned up and street outreach teams on behalf of the state to ensure no one is occupying that space first."

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