City Of Warren Spending $125K Battling Rats Fleeing I-696 Construction

(CBS Detroit) In an effort to keep rats out of neighborhoods when I-696 reopens next week, Warren Mayor, Jim Fouts is spending $125K to trap the rodents.

"If we didn't have this baiting program, the rats would be in our neighborhoods," Fouts said in a news release Wednesday.

The containment program began last April and will continue until all I-696 construction is complete. Fouts said,  the heavy pounding and excavation causes rats to seek shelter, food and water.

The Michigan Department of Transportation said the freeway should be back to normal by Monday, when all lanes in both directions should be open.

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