 State Road 85 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SR 85 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byFDOT | ||||
| Length | 56.486 mi[1] (90.905 km) | |||
| Existed | 1945 renumbering (definition)–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  US 98 inFort Walton Beach | |||
| Major intersections |  SR 20 inNiceville I-10 inCrestview US 90 in Crestview | |||
| North end |  SR 55 inFlorala, AL | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Florida | |||
| Counties | Okaloosa,Walton | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
State Road 85 (SR 85) is a north–southstate highway that runs fromUS 98 inFort Walton Beach, Florida north toState Route 55 at theFlorida/Alabama state line. In its earliest inception, it was just a clayed road over graded sandy soil, and was known early in the twentieth century as the Georgia, Alabama and Florida Highway.[2]
From its southern terminus at the intersection ofUS 98 in downtown Fort Walton Beach toShalimar, Florida, SR 85 is a six-lane highway with turn medians, accessing local beaches andEglin Air Force Base. The road, known as Eglin Parkway, runs north through Fort Walton Beach, and the town ofCinco Bayou before crossing the namesake Cinco Bayou Bridge,[3][4] and then through theOcean City area of Fort Walton Beach. It crosses Garniers Bayou intoShalimar, and thence north onto theEglin reservation where it becomes a four-lane route with grass median. It then skirts the northwest side ofEglin Air Force Base Main Base, with a grade separated interchange forState Road 123 andNorthwest Florida Regional Airport, continuing as a four-lane divided highway with a 65 mph (105 km/h) speed limit. A former railroad grade crossing just south of the commercial terminal was removed when the south end of theEglin Base Railroad was abandoned in the 1980s. Looping throughValparaiso as Government Avenue and the John Sims Parkway intoNiceville, SR 85 turns north at the intersection withState Road 20, passing College Boulevard, another removed Eglin AFB railroad grade crossing, and the intersection withState Road 293 Mid-Bay Bridge Connector. Continuing north, there is an interchange with the northern terminus ofState Road 123. SR 85 continues north through a grade-separated intersection at 77th Special Forces Way, serving the cantonment for the7th Special Forces Group andDuke Field. The road continues north, reaching theCrestview city limits and becoming a divided highway. At this point, the road encounters a series of restaurants, motels, gas stations, and other travel facilities ahead of the diamond interchange withI-10 at exit 56. The road continues throughCrestview, theOkaloosa County seat, intersectingU.S. Route 90, theOld Spanish Trail, and continues north towards its terminus at theAlabama state line, where it continues north asSR 55 towardsFlorala. North of the community of Auburn to theAlabama line State Road 85 is a two-lane rural highway. Just south ofLaurel Hill, the road crosses on a bridge the abandoned alignment of the formerLouisville and Nashville Railroad Yellow River branch that paralleled 85 between Crestview andFlorala, Alabama.[5]
Between 1923 and 1945, State Road 85 consisted of two different routes. The southern segment was the original SR 33 between Fort Walton Beach and Crestview in Okaloosa County. The northern segment was the original SR 54 between Crestview in Okaloosa County and crossed the Walton County line before being replaced by Alabama State Route 55 at the Florida-Alabama State Line.
Plans are to expand the section of highway between Auburn and the Alabama state line to four lanes once Alabama completes theirState Route 55 expansion to four lanes from south ofAndalusia, Alabama toFlorala, Alabama. This will provide both a better hurricane evacuation route fromOkaloosa County as well as a more direct route toDestin, Florida andFort Walton Beach, Florida fromInterstate 65.
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okaloosa | Fort Walton Beach | 0.000 | 0.000 | US 98 (Miracle Strip Parkway /SR 30) –Destin,Pensacola | Southern terminus |
| 0.607 | 0.977 |   SR 145 south (Perry Avenue) | Northern terminus of SR 145 | ||
| Ocean City | 3.039 | 4.891 |   SR 188 west (Racetrack Road) | Eastern terminus of SR 188 | |
| Eglin AFB | 5.518 | 8.880 |   CR 85B west (Sunset Lane) | ||
| 5.97 | 9.61 |   SR 397 north –Eglin AFB | interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 6.473 | 10.417 |  SR 189 –Eglin AFB,Wright,Fairgrounds,University of Florida Research & Engineering Education Facility | |||
| 7.752 | 12.476 | General Bond Boulevard -Hurlburt Field | |||
| 8.55 | 13.76 |   SR 123 north toI-10 –Crestview | interchange | ||
| 9.13 | 14.69 | Northwest Florida Regional Airport | interchange | ||
| 11.476 | 18.469 |   SR 190 east –Valparaiso | Western terminus of SR 190 | ||
| Niceville | 12.251 | 19.716 | SR 397 south (John Sims Parkway) –Eglin AFB | Northern terminus of SR 397 | |
| 12.895 | 20.752 |   SR 20 east (John Sims Parkway) toSR 293 –Destin,Tallahassee,Bunnell | Western terminus of SR 20 | ||
| 13.782 | 22.180 |   CR 190 east (College Boulevard) | |||
| 14.5 | 23.3 | SR 293 south –Mid-Bay Bridge | Northern terminus of SR 293 | ||
| Eglin AFB | 16.966 | 27.304 | SR 123 south –Fort Walton,Destin,Northwest Florida Regional Airport,Eglin AFB,Hurlburt Field | Northern terminus of SR 123 | |
| 22.42 | 36.08 | McWhorter Avenue, 77th Special Forces Way (SR 210) | interchange | ||
| Crestview | 27.635 | 44.474 | P.J. Adams Parkway | toCR 4 | |
| 28.62 | 46.06 | I-10 (SR 8) –Pensacola,Tallahassee | Exit 56 (I-10) | ||
| 31.286 | 50.350 | US 90 (SR 10) –Milligan,Mossy Head,Downtown Crestview, National Guard Armory | |||
| 33.710 | 54.251 |   CR 188 (Airport Road / Old Bethel Road) –Bob Sikes Airport | |||
| | 38.268 | 61.586 |   CR 85A north (Bill Lundy Road) | ||
| | 44.355 | 71.382 |  CR 2 west –Blackman | ||
| Almarante | 46.162 | 74.291 |  CR 602 west | ||
| Laurel Hill | 47.629 | 76.651 | CR 85A north (Second Avenue) | ||
| 49.115 | 79.043 |  CR 85A south | |||
| Svea | 51.232 | 82.450 |  CR 393 south | ||
| Walton | | 53.212 | 85.636 |  CR 52 north (Perkins Road) | |
| Pleasant Grove | 54.184 | 87.201 |  CR 147 –Paxton,Lakewood | ||
| | 56.486 | 90.905 | SR 55 north –Florala | Alabama state line; northern terminus | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
