Los Angeles doesn't want Super Bowl LVI visitors and viewers getting an up-close look at the city's homeless problem -- which is why a major cleanup is underway near the site of the big game.
These pics were taken Monday morning ... near the 405 freeway, which significantly is just a couple miles from SoFi Stadium. As you can see, CHP officers are on hand to reroute traffic and clear out homeless encampments ... as private contractors clean up behind them.
With the Super Bowl just 3 weeks away ... it certainly appears L.A.'s leadership is attempting to polish up areas that will be heavily trafficked, and possibly shown in aerial shots, on game day.
Our law enforcement sources tell us cops started moving homeless people bright and early Monday from this area near the 405 and Century Blvd. Not coincidentally, we think, this is smack in the middle of the most direct route from LAX to SoFi.
We're told the situation here used to look "a lot worse" -- and there's a similar effort going on at a nearby park. After that, we're told, crews will remove a tent city under the freeway.
Here's a telling sign of just how bad the homeless crisis is in L.A. ... the company helping with the cleanup is called Planet Green and they say they specialize in emergency disaster cleanup and biohazardous waste cleanup.
The homeless crisis is a city-wide problem -- and while it has previously been addressed in other areas, the current focus seems to be on shielding Super Bowl crowds from the truth ... which is that L.A. has a very real humanitarian crisis on its hands.