An ODOT crew removes materials from a homeless camp near Revere Avenue and the Bend Parkway on March 11, 2021.

The Oregon Department of Transportation began clearing out and cleaning up homeless camps around an exit on Interstate 84 in Pendleton last week.

But the city of Pendleton had to find out through Oregon State Police, not ODOT.

ODOT owns the land where the work is taking place.

Tom Strandberg, the agency’s regional public information officer, said ODOT expects most of the cleanup to be finished in about two weeks.

Pendleton City Manager Robb Corbett said Oregon State Police tipped off the city police department that the state transportation department gave the camps notices to vacate.

“ODOT didn’t notify the city ahead of time.” Corbett said. “The OSP let the police department know that there might be an influx of people without homes coming into the community. We don’t have resources as a city to accommodate them, so they need to contact relevant agencies.”

ODOT posted notices and worked with Oregon State Police because of illegal drugs and firearms, Strandberg said.

“We are trying to be sensitive,” he said. “We recognize that illegal campers may not be there by choice. We don’t want to dispose of personal property which campers might value. We follow guidelines in posting and removal.”

ODOT posts notices of impending cleanup and the need to vacate the area 10 days prior to starting work, Strandberg said. Workers photograph and collect personal property, which is then stored at maintenance sites for 30 days from date of pickup.

“We give them time to pick up their things and move,” he said. “A lot of their belongings are messed up, exposed to weather. That’s why we take photos, to show their condition. If it’s just trash, we remove it to a transfer station. We have a contract with a hazardous material handling company to move the dangerous stuff.”

Besides cleaning up trash, Corbett said ODOT also plans to remove brush in the area because campers tend to hide in shrubbery. Strandberg said while Monday was cold, crews were there on the job.

“They can only work sporadically, when there is no weather issue,” he said. “When the crew needs to drive snowplows or when it’s too cold, they can’t conduct the cleanup.”

ODOT has conducted several cleanups around exits on U.S. Highway 97 in Bend earlier this year and during 2021.