A serious funding boost for UConn scientists researching our state’s crumbling concrete problem.
Congressman Joe Courtney says UConn will receive $4 million to continue its work on preventing, detecting, and lessening the impact of defective concrete on walls and foundations.
It’s part of the big federal spending bill Congress just passed and the president signed.
Hundreds of Connecticut homes and condos have been determined to have a crumbling concrete problem, which can cost homeowners several hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair.
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Experts have said it is caused by the mineral pyrrhotite which causes concrete to crack and expand when exposed to air and water.
The concrete manufacturer believed to have sold the defective product went out of business. Insurance companies have not covered a majority of the insurance claims.
The issue was first reported by NBC Connecticut Investigates seven years ago.
The state has already spent tens of millions of dollars helping lift people’s homes and replacing the defective concrete underneath. It has committed to spending tens of millions more.
The latest grant received by UConn to study concrete is the third one it has received from the federal government. The two others were for $1.1 million and $1.4 million, respectively.
