It's not just a crazy number: its a fantasy number: some critic just made it up. What are the odds that an actual, calculated cost of anything equals 10 billion dollars?
You're absolutely right, it's not exactly $10 billion. The upper range estimate by the State of California Department of Water Resources and Department of Parks and Recreation is $9,824,000,000.00. San Francisco Public Utilities Commission rounded their estimate to $9,000,000,000.00. I think it would be a fantasy to think it would be less than that. Removing the dam is just a part of it. Replacing the water and power system is what really costs the big bucks. This would be a fantastic boondoggle for consultants and lawyers for a generation before any decision would even be made. By then, the costs will have multiplied.
For comparison:
Oakland Bay Bridge $6.2 billion
The newest air craft carrier $6.3 billion
The newest stadium - Dallas $1.2 billion
CERN Large Hadron Particle Collider $4.4 billion
Boston "Big Dig" Tunnel $14.6 billion ($2.8 billion estimate)
Hubble Telescope $1.2 billion
Edited to add costs and commentary.
