Interstate 82 is a connector between Interstate 90 and Interstate 84 in central and southern Washington, with a slight protrusion south into Oregon to reach Interstate 84. Interstate 82's main purpose is to provide a connection between Interstate 90's western leg toward Seattle and Interstate 84's eastern leg toward Boise and Salt Lake City.  The northern end is at Interstate 90 in Ellensburg, a town in central Washington.  From there, Interstate 82 runs south to Yakima, where it starts to curve to the east in order to follow the Yakima River valley. At Richland, part of Washington's Tri-Cities area, Interstate 82 grazes the west side of town and turns southerly; for more direct access to the Tri-Cities, consisting of Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick, travelers can use the easterly spur of Interstate 82, designated Interstate 182.  Interstate 82's last order of business is to head south from Richland over the Columbia River into Oregon.  The bridge crossing is at Umatilla, Oregon. Interstate 82 only spends about six miles in north-central Oregon before ending at Interstate 84. The final interchange is just west of Stanfield and Hermiston, Oregon.  Since one endpoint of Interstate 82 is roughly due northwest of the other endpoint, it's debatable whether Interstate 82 deserved an odd number or an even one.  But the fact that it's an even number between 84 and 90 doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

My photo of an Interstate 82 route marker faces south along Powerline Road, a surface road outside of Umatilla, Oregon that runs north-south.  Interstate 82's southward trajectory curves southwesterly for a bit across the north-south road.  Therefore, the guide assembly depicted facing south says "East Interstate 82" with a left arrow that actually points west.  Situations like this make me wonder if Interstate 82 should be considered a north-south highway with an odd number. I took this photo on the way to Astoria, Oregon from Glacier National Park, on a westward leg of the drive to the Pacific Ocean in August, 2018. The interchange where I took this photo is the second one north of Interstate 82's southern end.
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