Connecticut Bridge Concrete to be Tested For Destructive Mineral

Published at 11:59 AM EDT on Jul 27, 2018 | NBCUniversal

For the first time, concrete from a state-owned bridge will be tested for the same mineral believed to have caused hundreds of basement walls in Connecticut to crack and deteriorate.

The state insists it has no concerns whatsoever the concrete has any amount of the mineral, known as pyrrhotite.

Cracks on the Potter School Road bridge in Willington had a lot of people asking if it contained pyrrhotite. The state says it doesn’t, but today handed over a set of samples for a third party to test.

Republican State Rep. Tom Delnicki, of South Windsor, who represents one of the Connecticut towns with dozens of homes with crumbling concrete basements, was curious enough to get the samples. He’s now having them tested for pyrrhotite.

Delnicki explains “The question being, could this be some of that concrete, could we have issues somewhere else? It’s really ensuring the safety of the public.”

The Connecticut Department of Transportation is currently replacing the bridge.

It points out it was built in 1960, well before the time when a Stafford Springs company is believed to have begun supplying concrete containing pyrrhotite.

The DOT calls the cracks on the bridge due to normal wear and tear, and it is recycling some of the old concrete from the bridge, to use on the new one.