Editing Interstate 82 (section)

===Planning and early disputes===

The Ellensburg–Pendleton corridor was authorized in 1956 but was not formally added to the Interstate system until October 17, 1957.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 26, 1957 |title=U.S. Aid For Highway Link Acceptable |page=4 |work=The Seattle Times |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> The {{convert|132|mi|km|adj=mid}} corridor was proposed by the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] and Washington senator [[Warren Magnuson]] in part to connect military facilities in the [[Puget Sound region]] to the [[Hanford Site]] and the [[Umatilla Chemical Depot]].<ref name="YHR-2002">{{cite news |last=Courtney |first=Ross |date=October 27, 2002 |title=Interstate 82: Twenty years ago, a 45-mile section of I-82 linked Union Gap to Prosser and set in motion changes to the Yakima Valley's economy, landscape |page=A1 |work=Yakima Herald-Republic |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-9576957.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908130936/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-9576957.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 8, 2018  |access-date=September 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=January 3, 1958 |title=$93 Million Go To NW Roads |page=1 |work=[[Corvallis Gazette-Times]] |agency=[[United Press International]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21698714/oregon_and_washington_interstate/ |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908130742/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21698714/oregon_and_washington_interstate/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Its inclusion was initially opposed by Oregon, fearing the loss of truck traffic bound for the [[Intermountain West]] through [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]].<ref>{{cite news |date=December 5, 1957 |title=Bugge Confident Highway Opponents To Be Beaten |page=30 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> Under the initial plan approved by the Washington state government in January 1958, the highway would travel through the Yakima Valley and cross the Columbia River at [[Boardman, Oregon]], bypassing the Tri-Cities region entirely.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 22, 1958 |title=Ellensburg-Pendleton Road Route Approved by State |page=3 |work=The Seattle Times |agency=United Press International}}</ref> It was numbered "Interstate 82" in 1958, re-using an older designation for what would become [[Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah)|Interstate 80N]] (now I-84).<ref>{{cite news |date=July 5, 1958 |title=Interstate 82N Changed to 80N |page=8 |work=[[Idaho State Journal]] |location=Pocatello, Idaho |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21148174/interstate_82n_becomes_interstate_80n/ |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=June 21, 2018 |archive-date=June 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621093654/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21148174/interstate_82n_becomes_interstate_80n/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite map |title=National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, As of June, 1958 |publisher=[[American Automobile Association]] |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3701p.ct003465/?r=-0.143,0.018,1.111,0.872,0 |via=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=June 21, 2018 |archive-date=November 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128062802/https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3701p.ct003465/?r=-0.143,0.018,1.111,0.872,0 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1959, the Washington State Highway Commission requested that the interstate would follow US&nbsp;410 across [[Naches Pass]] to [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] and [[Aberdeen, Washington|Aberdeen]], but the proposal was quietly abandoned.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 1959 |title=Commission Requests Aberdeen-Yakima Route For Interstate System |page=7 |work=Washington Highway News |volume=8 |issue=5 |publisher=Washington State Department of Highways |oclc=29654162 |url=https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll1/id/3285 |via=Washington State Department of Transportation Library Digital Collections |access-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=November 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128062804/https://cdm16977.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16977coll1/id/3285 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=February 12, 1959 |title=Hearing on Tunnel Held At Olympia |page=15 |work=[[The Chronicle (Centralia, Washington)|The Daily Chronicle]] |location=Centralia, Washington |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21057769/naches_pass_tunnel_hearing/ |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908130954/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21057769/naches_pass_tunnel_hearing/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The routing of the freeway's northwestern half was subject to disputes, namely the bypassing of the Yakima River Canyon that was favored by truckers due to its gentler [[grade (slope)|grades]].<ref name="YHR-2002"/><ref>{{cite news |date=October 21, 1965 |title=Chamber of Commerce Backs YFC Route Interstate Highway 82 |page=1 |work=Ellensburg Daily Record |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=65haAAAAIBAJ&pg=7203%2C4894603 |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=65haAAAAIBAJ&pg=7203%2C4894603 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1965, state highway commissioners chose the eastern route through the [[Yakima Firing Center]], primarily because of its cost and room to support four lanes.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 16, 1965 |title=Firing Center Route Chosen for I-82 |page=1 |work=Ellensburg Daily Record |agency=Associated Press |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_JhaAAAAIBAJ&pg=5387%2C5895941 |via=Google News Archive |access-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126080459/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_JhaAAAAIBAJ&pg=5387%2C5895941 |url-status=live }}</ref> A land transfer for {{convert|2,612|acre|ha}} from the U.S. Army was approved by Congress in November 1967 to allow for freeway construction near the firing center.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 15, 1967 |title=Land Swap OK'd for Interstate 82 |page=3 |work=Tri-City Herald |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> A section of the Yakima River Freeway was also planned to pass through part of the [[Yakama Indian Reservation]] but the [[Yakama Nation]] refused to allow the [[eminent domain|condemnation]] of {{convert|10|acre|ha}} belonging to its members and filed suit against the state government in 1969.<ref name="WUB-1969">{{cite news |date=August 15, 1969 |title=I-182 section work to begin by June, 1971 |page=5 |work=[[Walla Walla Union-Bulletin]]}}</ref> The [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington|U.S. District Court]] and [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals]] both ruled in favor of the Yakamas, forcing I-82 to be rerouted across the river on non-reservation land.<ref name="YHR-2002"/><ref name="WUB-1969"/><ref>{{cite news |date=June 3, 1971 |title=New Freeway Contract Nears |page=5 |work=Walla Walla Union-Bulletin}}</ref>

I-82's chosen route between [[Union Gap, Washington|Union Gap]] and [[Granger, Washington|Granger]] would pass through {{convert|15|mi|km}} of the Yakima River's flood plain, attracting criticism from the federal [[Environmental Protection Agency]] for its potential effects on the area.<ref name="Times-Flood1973">{{cite news |date=January 14, 1973 |title=Highway-building criticism takes root in projects like Interstate 82 |page=B4 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The Yakima County government also disliked the routing, arguing that it would destroy hundreds of acres of prime agricultural land.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 28, 1971 |title=Interstate 82 Detour Demanded |page=1 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> A later attempt by environmentalists to move the freeway farther away from the river, including a potential route along the [[Rattlesnake Ridge]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Wherry |first=Bob |date=February 13, 1973 |title=Rattlesnake route challenged |page=3 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> was rejected by the state shorelines [[hearings board]] in 1978 due to its extra distance and potential effects on a rare butterfly bog.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 23, 1978 |title=Shorelines board snuffs challenge to I-82 rive route |page=B8 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Kent |date=March 9, 1978 |title=Valley permit for I-82 OK'd |page=3 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref>