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.