to $270 million

The Bureau of Reclamation in 1932 estimated the cost of constructing Grand Coulee Dam (not including the Third Powerplant) to be $168 million; its actual cost was $163 million ($1.85 billion in 1998). Expenses to finish the power stations and repair design flaws with the dam throughout the 1940s and '50s added another $107 million, bringing the total cost to $270 million ($2.6 billion in 1998), about 33% over estimates.[80] The Third Powerplant was estimated to cost $390 million in 1967, but higher construction costs and labor disputes drove the project's final cost in 1973 to $730 million ($2.93 billion in 1998), about 55% over estimates. Despite estimates being exceeded, the dam became an economic success, particularly with the Third Powerplant exhibiting a benefit-cost ratio of 2:1.[63] Although Reclamation has only irrigated about half of the land predicted, the gross value of crop output (in constant dollars) had doubled from 1962 to 1992, largely due to different farming practices and crop choices.[35]
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Kirk Sanford