School In Tolland, Lost In Crumbling Foundation Crisis, Reopening

TOLLAND, CT — Birch Grove Primary School, perhaps the most impactful example of the crumbling foundation crisis in north central Connecticut, is set to open with a new building next month.

The first day of school in Tolland is slated for Sept. 8.

Thousands of homes and buildings in the area have been affected by deteriorating foundations that can be traced to a bad batch of concrete from a Stafford quarry dating back to the 1980s and 1990s. The concrete contained the mineral pyrrhotite, which can cause foundations to break down.

Birch Grove is arguably the most public example of a foundation crumbling. The school was deemed unsafe by engineers and local officials and had to be torn down. Portable trailer-like classrooms had been used while the new school was being built.

Tolland Board of Education chairwoman Ashley Lundgren seemed relieved and overjoyed when asked about the opening.

"There have been amazing efforts on all fronts getting Birch Grove ready for this school year," Lungren told Patch. "It will be ready to welcome our Eaglets on our first day of school."

The new school is the culmination of a complicated replacement project that cost nearly $48 million.

The state is reimbursing the town at a rate of 89 percent for the $46 million is cost to build the school itself.

As the work began, a soil test showed no pollution, but determined the base was not suitable to support the building. The cost to remove the unsuitable soil was about $1.8 million and the state picked up the tab.

Birch Grove serves student in pre-kindergarten through Grade 2.