Grand Coulee Dam crane-lifted buckets, each supporting eight tons of concrete. To cool the concrete and facilitate curing, about of piping was placed throughout the hardening mass. Cold water from the river was pumped into the pipes, reducing the temperature within the forms from to . This caused the dam to contract about eight inches in length; the resulting gaps were filled with grout. Until the project began, the stretch of the Columbia River where the dam was to rise was as yet unbridged, making it difficult to move men and materials. In , the Grand Coulee Bridge (a permanent highway bridge) was
Grand Coulee Dam to oversee the dam project, and Reclamation was selected to oversee construction. On July 16, 1933, a crowd of 3,000 watched the driving of the first stake at the low dam site, and excavation soon began. Core drilling commenced that September while the Bureau of Reclamation accelerated its studies and designs for the dam. It would still help control floods and provide for irrigation and hydroelectricity, though at a reduced capacity. Most importantly, it would not raise its reservoir high enough to irrigate the plateau around the Grand Coulee. However, the dam's design provided for future raising and upgrading. Before