PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The cleanup of an open-air heroin market that has thrived for decades along a set of train tracks miles outside the heart of Philadelphia has started, but officials are cautioning that the effort will be long and difficult.
Conrail on Monday began moving heavy equipment and preparing its staging area at the half-mile stretch of railroad known as El Campamento.
The city and the company debated for more than seven months on how best to remove the layers of trash that cover the sunken-in gorge. Among the issues facing authorities is dense foliage that helps to hide drug usage as well as the disposal of the hundreds of syringes that line the tracks.
City officials say they’ll set up trailers in the area that will offer food and health screenings.
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