Editing Interstate 82 (section)

===Construction and opening===

The first section of I-82 to open was the eastern bypass of Yakima, which was planned as an upgrade to PSH&nbsp;3 in the 1950s and completed in November 1963.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 13, 1963 |title=Last Word on Highways Given |page=1 |work=Ellensburg Daily Record |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rQNPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6650%2C5606189 |via=Google News Archive |access-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=November 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121060124/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rQNPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6650%2C5606189 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=July 1957 |title=Route for State Highway 3 Bypass of Yakima Is Set |page=8 |work=Washington Highway News |volume=7 |issue=1 |publisher=Washington State Department of Highways |oclc=29654162 |url=https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll1/id/2700/rec/2 |via=Washington State Department of Transportation Library Digital Collections |access-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908131022/https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll1/id/2700/rec/2 |url-status=live }}</ref> The bypass freeway was later extended {{convert|2|mi|km}} southward to [[Union Gap, Washington|Union Gap]] in August 1965 and northward to Selah in August 1967.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 1966 |title=Construction Roundup: Interstate 82 |page=20 |work=Washington Highway News |publisher=Washington State Department of Highways |oclc=29654162 |url=https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll1/id/4954/ |via=Washington State Department of Transportation Library Digital Collections |access-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=September 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909112748/https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll1/id/4954/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Garrett |first=Harold |date=November 1971 |title=History of the Yakima Canyon and Interstate Highway 82 |pages=13–15 |work=Washington Highway News |publisher=Washington State Department of Highways |oclc=29654162 |url=https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll1/id/5853/ |via=Washington State Department of Transportation Library Digital Collections |access-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=September 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909112557/https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll1/id/5853/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The {{convert|26|mi|km|0|adj=mid}} section between Ellensburg and Yakima was funded earlier than scheduled, money being diverted from stalled freeway projects in the Seattle area, and construction began in October 1968.<ref>{{cite news |last=Barr |first=Robert A. |date=March 24, 1968 |title=3rd-Lake-Bridge Funds Diverted |page=1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref name="EDR-1970-Early">{{cite news |date=August 8, 1970 |title=I-82 to open six months early |work=Ellensburg Daily Record |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vQVPAAAAIBAJ&pg=3177%2C2122430 |via=Google News Archive |access-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=November 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123165001/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vQVPAAAAIBAJ&pg=3177%2C2122430 |url-status=live }}</ref> The $35 million freeway project (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|35000000|1971}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} required the excavation of approximately 20 million cubic yards ({{convert|20|e6cuyd|e6m3|abbr=unit|disp=out}}) of dirt and facilitated the discovery of a new [[geologic fault]] that would be monitored for seismic movement.<ref name="Times-1971EY">{{cite news |last=Foster |first=Barbara W. |date=November 21, 1971 |title=A new route to Yakima |pages=12–18 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Olds |first=Virginia |date=May 27, 1970 |title=I-82 crosses virgin territory southward from Ellensburg |page=1 |work=Ellensburg Daily Record |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=l2NOAAAAIBAJ&pg=7147%2C3429986 |via=Google News Archive |access-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126080501/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=l2NOAAAAIBAJ&pg=7147%2C3429986 |url-status=live }}</ref> WSDOT contractors built the longest concrete [[arch bridge|arch spans]] in North America on the [[Fred G. Redmon Bridge]], which crosses Selah Creek near the city of the same name.<ref name="Times-1971EY"/> The Ellensburg–Yakima freeway was opened on November 12, 1971, and US&nbsp;97 was transferred to the new highway and the Yakima Canyon route became [[Washington State Route 821|SR&nbsp;821]], a scenic highway.<ref name="Times-1971EY"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Balch |first=Jim |date=November 12, 1971 |title=I-82 is in business |page=1 |work=Yakima Herald-Republic}}</ref>

Major construction in the Yakima Valley began in 1977 with the building of a $5 million section (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|5000000|1978}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} between [[Zillah, Washington|Zillah]] and Granger, and a bypass of Prosser estimated to cost $7.2 million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|7200000|1979}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars).{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Philip |first=Jim |date=March 12, 1978 |title=Work under way to get interstate to Tri-Cities |page=41 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> Freeway construction was accelerated for sections bypassing the worst stretches of US&nbsp;410, including winding highways or high-traffic roads.<ref>{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Sue |date=January 7, 1982 |title=I-82 builders aim to finish job in 1986 |page=3 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> The {{convert|4|mi|km|adj=mid}} Zillah–Granger freeway opened in January 1979,<ref>{{cite news |date=January 12, 1979 |title=I-82 section opens |page=5 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> and the Prosser bypass opened in late August the same year.<ref>{{cite news |date=August 22, 1979 |title=Prosser bypass opens |page=7 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> I-82 was then extended {{convert|7|mi|km}} westward from Prosser to [[Grandview, Washington|Grandview]] in January 1981 at a cost of $19 million.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 6, 1981 |title=I-82 opening advanced |page=5 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> A {{convert|15|mi|km|adj=mid}} connection between the existing Yakima Freeway at Union Gap and the Zillah freeway was completed on November 24, 1981, and cost $47 million<!--1983 figure--> to construct (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|47000000|1983}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars).{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}<ref>{{cite news |date=November 18, 1981 |title=Zillah-Yakima I-82 link to open |page=3 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref><ref name="TCH-Timeline">{{cite news |date=February 12, 1983 |title=I-82 to be completed to Oregon link by 1988 |page=D2 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> The freeway's construction created an embankment between the Yakima River and surrounding areas, which helped to worsen major floods; it also required the digging of several gravel pits nearby, which were later converted into seven trout-stocked ponds that feed a local [[osprey]] population.<ref name="YHR-2002"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Sandsberry |first=Scott |date=September 14, 2006 |title=Ospreys soaring back to prominence |work=Yakima Herald-Republic |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-9633879.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910094702/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-9633879.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 10, 2018  |access-date=September 9, 2018}}</ref> The last section of the Yakima Valley Freeway to be built, running {{convert|15|mi|km}} from Granger to [[Sunnyside, Washington|Sunnyside]] and Grandview, was opened to traffic on October 29, 1982, shortly after a dedication ceremony to commemorate the Yakima Valley project.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 29, 1982 |title=I-82 to be dedicated in Valley on Oct. 29 |page=A3 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref>

[[File:Umatilla Bridge from visitors center.jpg|thumb|right|The original [[Umatilla Bridge]], which now carries the eastbound lanes of I-82, seen from the Oregon side|alt=A pair of long bridges crossing a river as seen from the shore]]

The routing of I-82 around the Tri-Cities and to the Umatilla Bridge was approved by the Benton County government in 1972, generally following [[Washington State Route 14|SR&nbsp;14]] and bypassing Kennewick to the southwest.<ref>{{cite news |last=Woehler |first=Bob |date=August 4, 1978 |title=$29 million price tag put on I-82 Kennewick bypass |page=1 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> Construction on I-82 and I-182 began in 1980, using $340 million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|430000000|1968}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} in newly earmarked funds from the U.S. Congress.<ref>{{cite news |last=Woehler |first=Bob |date=February 17, 1980 |title=Work starts on Tri-City end of Interstate 82 |page=B26 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Woehler |first=Bob |date=February 15, 1981 |title=$340 million needed to finish Interstate 82 |page=B21 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> A short, {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=mid}} section bypassing Plymouth and preparing for the new Umatilla Bridge was opened to traffic on August 31, 1981, and cost $5 million to construct (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|5000000|1981}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars).{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Woehler |first=Bob |date=September 1, 1981 |title=125 dedicate I-82 at Plymouth |page=3 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> The remaining sections on SR&nbsp;14 between Plymouth and Kennewick were constructed and paved between 1983 and 1985.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ganders |first=Larry |date=August 10, 1983 |title=Repair work could delay completion of I-182 bridge |page=A1 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Merriman |first1=Edward |last2=Taylor |first2=Sue |date=July 26, 1985 |title=Night out ends with five dead |page=A1 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> US&nbsp;395 was re-aligned onto the new freeway in 1985, replacing an earlier alignment that traveled through [[Wallula, Washington|Wallula]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Woehler |first=Bob |date=October 22, 1986 |title=Highway 395 routed through Tri-Cities |page=A1 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> while SR&nbsp;14 was truncated to Plymouth and SR&nbsp;143 was eliminated.<ref>{{cite book |date=April 25, 1985 |title=Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1985 |chapter=Chapter 177: State Highway Routes Revised |page=674 |chapter-url=http://leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/documents/sessionlaw/1985c177.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910220938/http://leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/documents/sessionlaw/1985c177.pdf |archive-date=2015-09-10 |url-status=live |publisher=Washington State Legislature |access-date=September 19, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=April 12, 1985 |title=New numbers for old roads |page=B1 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> The final section of I-82 within Washington state, spanning {{convert|17|mi|km}} from [[Kiona, Washington|Kiona]] to an interchange south of Kennewick, was dedicated on February 23, 1986, and opened the following month.<ref>{{cite news |last=Woehler |first=Bob |date=February 23, 1986 |title=Final ribbon cut on I82, 182 highway links |page=B1 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Woehler |first=Bob |date=April 4, 1986 |title=Interstate opening a Tri-City success story |page=B7 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> During construction of I-82, a pair of fossilized tusks belonging to a [[mastodon]] and [[Columbian mammoth]] were found by workers near Kiona and Plymouth, respectively, and were excavated by local archaeologists.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hoover |first=Dave |date=January 11, 1986 |title=Tusk buried in mammoth flood |page=B1 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Maryfran |date=January 8, 1986 |title=WSU expert to study tusk |page=A2 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> The existing {{convert|12|mi|km|adj=mid}} divided highway between Prosser and Kiona, built in 1960,<ref>{{cite news |date=June 27, 1960 |title=4-Lane Highway Nearly Finished |page=3 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> was upgraded to Interstate standards in 1987 at a cost of $19.2 million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|19200000|1987}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars).{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}<ref>{{cite news |date=December 12, 1986 |title=Acme receives $7.79 million contract to finish I-82 work |page=B10 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Metcalf |first=Gale |date=June 25, 1987 |title=Several highway projects near end |page=A15 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref>

Construction of the northbound Umatilla Bridge, located {{convert|100|ft|m}} upriver from the original bridge, began in 1985.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ganders |first=Larry |date=January 4, 1985 |title=Bridge contract awarded |page=B1 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Larson |first=Rick |date=March 8, 1985 |title=Umatila bridge started |page=B1 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> The new bridge cost $16.5 million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|16500000|1987}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} and was completed in October 1987 after two years of construction.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 22, 1987 |title=Umatilla bridge dedication Monday |page=B2 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> The final section of I-82, extending {{convert|9.9|mi|km|1}} between Umatilla and Hermiston, began construction in February 1984 and was dedicated and opened to traffic on September 20, 1988.<ref>{{cite news |last=Woehler |first=Bob |date=September 21, 1988 |title=I-82's last miles completed |page=C6 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=October 2, 1988 |title=Oregon dedicates final interstate link |page=B5 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> It was also the final segment of the Interstate Highway system in Oregon, which spanned {{convert|731|mi|km}}.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cockle |first=Dick |date=September 21, 1988 |title=Final segment completes freeway system |page=B4 |work=The Oregonian}}</ref> The southbound Umatilla Bridge underwent a major $5.2 million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|5200000|1988}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} rehabilitation project and re-opened in July 1990.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 11, 1988 |title=Umatilla Bridge to close |page=A13 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=July 19, 1990 |title=Highway projects under way this summer |page=8 |work=Walla Walla Union-Bulletin}}</ref> The total cost to construct I-82 was estimated in 1988 to be $317 million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|317000000|1988}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars),{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} of which $288 million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|288000000|1988}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} was spent in Washington and $29 million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|29000000|1988}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} was spent in Oregon.<ref>{{cite news |last=Woehler |first=Bob |date=September 18, 1988 |title=I-82 milestone: Tuesday dedication to end 25-year saga |page=B1 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref>