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 Frank A. Banks served as the chief construction engineer. Bert A. Hall was the chief inspector who would accept the dam from the contractors. Orin G. Patch served as the chief of concrete. Construction conditions were dangerous and 77 workers died. To prepare for construction, housing for workers was needed along with four bridges downstream of the dam site, one of which, the Grand Coulee Bridge, exists today. The Bureau of Reclamation provided housing and located their administrative building at Engineer's Town, which was directly downstream of the construction site on the west side of the river. Opposite Engineer's Town,