08/12/2026
City of San Bernardino and Caltrans Partner to Address Homeless Encampments Along Freeways
The City of San Bernardino and Caltrans have finalized an agreement that authorizes the City to address homeless encampments, litter, debris, and graffiti located along State freeway corridors within its city limits.
"This agreement represents an important step forward to address homeless encampments along our freeways," said Mayor Helen Tran. "For too long, jurisdictional barriers have limited our ability to address these areas.”
San Bernardino joins twelve other cities across California that have taken over this responsibility from the State.
Until now, the City has been unable to address encampments located on Caltrans-owned property. The new agreement gives the City the authority to perform maintenance and encampment abatement activities along freeway corridors while following State guidelines and safety requirements.
The agreement includes the 10, 215, and 210 Freeways, along with State Highway 18, Route 66, and a portion of Highway 330.
In addition to removing encampments and improving the appearance of freeway corridors in San Bernardino, the City will coordinate outreach efforts to connect individuals experiencing homelessness with shelter, housing, and supportive services before encampments are removed whenever feasible.
Caltrans will reimburse the City for eligible costs including labor, contracted services, equipment, disposal, hazardous material handling, traffic control, and outreach.
This partnership supports San Bernardino's ongoing efforts to improve quality of life by enhancing public safety, maintaining cleaner transportation corridors, and expanding coordinated outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness.
"Residents deserve clean, safe freeway corridors, and people experiencing homelessness deserve the opportunity to connect with services that can help them move toward stable housing,” added Tran. “This partnership allows us to do both by combining compassionate outreach with timely action to restore these public spaces.”
