an expressway connecting with the new Pioneer Memorial Bridge, which opened on July 30, 1954. The southern section of the Richland bypass, terminating near Hanford, was designated as Secondary State Highway 3R (SSH 3R) in 1953 and extended west via modern SR 224 to Kiona two years later. Shortly after the Atomic Energy Commission approved preliminary plans for a state highway across part of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in 1959, the state legislature designated it as Secondary State Highway 11C (SSH 11C) and allocated gas tax funds to construct it, despite opposition from Yakima legislators. Under the state law, passed despite opposition from Yakima legislators, SSH 11C would not be built until a bridge replacing the Vernita ferry was ready for traffic. The highway was rebuilt at a cost of $770,000 (equivalent to $ in dollars) and opened on July 14, 1965, linking Richland to the nearly-complete Vernita Bridge. An additional of the highway, bypassing the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in North Richland, opened on June 20, 1968. SR 240 was created during the 1964 state highway renumbering as part of the new sign route system, replacing SSH 11C and the eastern section of SSH 3R. The Richland–Kennewick freeway was renumbered in 1967 after US 12 was extended west to replace portions of US 410. US 12 was then moved onto the newly completed I-182 in the 1985 and SR 240 was extended east to a junction with the relocated US 395 in Kennewick. The Richland Bypass was also widened from two lanes to five in 1980, at a cost of $1.83 million. The population of the Tri-Cities region grew substantially in the late 20th century, causing increased traffic congestion on the urban sections of SR 240. A $58 million highway widening program was completed in 2007 by WSDOT, expanding SR 240 to six lanes between Stevens Drive and Columbia Center Boulevard. The Yakima River Bridge was demolished in 2004 and replaced by a set of two bridges carrying three lanes each, as well as a multi-use bicycle and pedestrian trail. The western portion of the Columbia River Trail interchange at the Richland Wye was converted into a roundabout that opened to traffic in June 2007. A separate $16 million project completed in November 2009 converted the cloverleaf interchange at US 395 into a dogbone interchange with two roundabouts to improve safety and traffic flow. Due to remaining congestion issues