Last updated on December 5th, 2022
36. Generator Upgrade
It was the Cold War era. The US and the USSR battled for global supremacy in everything from the space race to power generation. The Soviets installed massive generators in their latest dam, so engineers revised the Grand Coulee design to keep up.
37. Clearing the Papers
Henry M. Jackson, a Washington senator, helped the project get funding in Congress. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed the appropriation bill.
38. An Embarrassing Situation
Most megaprojects are usually open to international bidding. After all, more options can lead to better deals. However, the US shut this down to avoid potential embarrassment after a Soviet firm expressed interest. They couldn’t let an international rival build a local power plant.
39. Expansion
They blew it up. In 1967, the workers demolished the northeast side of the dam and built a new fore-bay section. Then they excavated 22 million cubic yards of dirt before building a 526-meter dam extension.
40. Turbines and Generators
The new power plant featured six of the latest generators available. The first three are 600 MW units from Westinghouse, while the other three are 700 MW behemoths from General Electric – later upgraded to 805 MW units from Siemens.
41. Energy Production
It was worth the effort. The expansion increased energy production by 300%, with the third power plant producing two-thirds of Grand Coulee’s output today. It fueled growth in the Northwest for decades.
Random Facts
42. World Record
The Grand Coulee has a proud legacy. It held the record as the largest power plant in the world during two separate periods: 1949-1959, for the original structure, and 1983-1989, after expansion.
43. The Soviet Dam Projects
In 1959, the Grand Coulee Dam lost its record when the USSR opened the Volga Hydroelectric Station. It didn’t stop there. The country built the larger Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station in 1963 and the Krasnoyarsk Dam in 1971.
44. Wartime Use
During World War II, the Grand Coulee Dam served as the powerhouse of the US war effort. Its energy enabled aluminum smelters, airplane factories, and shipyards to keep going. Its electricity powered plutonium production for the top-secret Manhattan Project.
45. Economic Benefits
The dam contributes about $2 billion to the economy annually through power production and irrigation. It helps over 60 crops grow across 670,000 acres. It also generates 21 terawatt-hours of electricity each year.
46. Dam Volume
The Grand Coulee is massive. If you compress the nearly one-mile structure, you may appreciate its size. The total volume is over 9 million cubic meters – over three times the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.
47. The Reservoir
The Bureau of Reclamation began purchasing land for the reservoir in the 1930s. The dam flooded 70,500 acres, and the artificial body of water became known as Lake Roosevelt.
48. Glimpse of the Past
Settlers moved their homes before the dam reservoir flooded the area. There were 11 towns, four sawmills, 14 bridges, and four telegraph systems. Whenever the water recedes, the submerged remnants reappear – streets, stumps, and foundations.
49. Relocation
The reservoir partially flooded tribal lands. Some Native Americans had to relocate to higher ground and move graves from traditional burial sites. The dam also blocked salmon from their fishing grounds, affecting their annual rituals.
50. Grand Coulee Bridge
It’s hard to move tons of materials across a river. A permanent bridge made it easy in 1936. Three temporary bridges downstream also helped with labor and vehicle transport.
51. Workers
Chief construction engineer Frank A. Banks supervised the work of around 8,000 people. The average pay was 80 cents an hour, which was high for the period. The dangerous site claimed the lives of 77 men, mostly from falls.
52. Architectural Design
Marcel Breuer, a modernist architect, designed the third power plant. His other notable works are the World Heritage Centre, Met Breuer Museum, and IBM La Gaude. The Hungarian also designed iconic furniture like the Wassily and Cesca Chairs.
The grand Coulee Dam – quick facts and vital statistics
| Official name | Grand Coulee Dam |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 47°57′21″N 118°58′54″W |
| Installed capacity | 6809 MW |
| Type of dam | Concrete gravity |
| Location | United States |
| Status | operational |
| Purpose | power, regulation, irrigation |
| Opened | June 1, 1942 |
| Owned by | Bureau of Reclamation |
| Cost | $163 million (cost of original structure built in 1943) |
| Impounds | Columbia River |
| Reservoir | Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lake and Banks Lake |
| Height | 550 ft (168 m) |
| Length | 5,223 feet (1,592 m) |
| Spillway | 1,000,000 cu ft/s (28,317 m3/s) |
| Last updated | December 05, 2022 |