Budget hawks are screeching about a measure tucked into the government funding deal that raises the spending cap for a dam in Kentucky to $2.9 billion, calling the project an example of federal profligacy and mismanagement.

The Olmsted Locks and Dam is 24 years behind schedule and its cost has tripled since Congress authorized it in 1988. That’s mainly because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tried a largely untested method when constructing the dam — building it underwater.