cost to reach $50 million (equivalent to $ in dollars). The Fremont Bridge and I-5 interchange opened on November 15, 1973, at a final cost of $82 million (equivalent to $ in dollars). I-405 cost a total of $121 million to construct (equivalent to $ in dollars), making it the most expensive freeway project in Oregon on a per-mile basis. The northern section included construction of stub ramps to two future freeway extensions: the Industrial Freeway (I-505) from the west end of the Fremont Bridge and the Rose City Freeway from the I-5 interchange at the east end of the bridge. I-505 was approved by the federal government in 1969 and was planned to begin construction shortly after the bridge opened, but was halted by lawsuits from neighborhood activists. The project was cancelled in 1978 and the ramps were reused for an expressway section of US 30 connecting to Yeon Avenue, which opened in 1988. The Rose City Freeway remained part of a long-term freeways plan from the city government, but was later cancelled due to a lack of funding. The unused ramps were instead redirected to Kerby Avenue to serve the expanded Legacy Emanuel Hospital with approval from the city council in 1974 despite protests from local residents, which stalled the project for several years. The ramps were opened in 1979 with limited access to nearby streets as a compromise for the neighborhood. Later developments In August 2009, the entirety of I-405 with the exception of the Fremont Bridge was completely repaved for the first time by ODOT. The bridge itself was repaved in August 2011. ODOT began a year-long project to repair and replace expansion joints on elevated sections of the freeway in March 2019 due to extended deterioration of the structure. In 1998, Mayor Vera Katz proposed capping the southwest portion of I-405 to create space for parks, housing, and offices. A similar proposal was suggested by the Portland Art Commission in 1964, but not studied until the adoption of the 1972 Downtown Plan. Plans to cap portions of I-405 have been made by grassroots organizations since the 2000s, aiming to mitigate the effects of the freeway and create new development in northwestern Portland. A bridge, named Ned Flanders Crossing for The Simpsons character Ned Flanders, was built to create a pedestrian and bicycle connection across I-405 between two sections of Northwest Flanders Street in Northwest Portland.