Editing Tri-Cities, Washington (section)

===1980s–1990s===
[[Image:RichlandWaEMSL.jpg|thumb|right|284px|The Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory at [[Pacific Northwest National Laboratory]], a major national [[laboratory]] in Richland]]
Completion of the [[Interstate 182 Bridge]] in 1984 made Pasco much more accessible, fueling the growth of that city.<ref>{{cite news |first=Joel |last=Connelly |title=We have to live with our transit decisions |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/connelly/244857_joel17.html |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |date=October 17, 2005 |access-date=March 31, 2008}}</ref> With the end of the Cold War, many in the area feared a shutdown of Hanford, followed by the Tri-Cities quickly becoming a [[ghost town]]. These fears were allayed after the [[United States Department of Energy]] switched the facility's purpose from the creation of nuclear weapons to the effective sealing and disposal of [[radioactive waste]]. During the 1990s, several major corporations entered the Tri-Cities, which helped to begin diversifying the [[economy]] apart from the Hanford sector. In 1995, a sixth public high school, [[Southridge High School (Kennewick)|Southridge High]], was founded in south Kennewick.