  U.S. Highway 85 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 85 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byTxDOT | ||||
| Length | 5.630 mi[1] (9.061 km) | |||
| Existed | 1946[1]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  US 62 at theU.S.-Mexico border betweenEl Paso andCiudad Juárez,Chih. | |||
| Major intersections | US 62 inEl Paso  I-10 /US 180 | |||
| North end |  I-10 /US 85 /US 180 atAnthony | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Texas | |||
| Counties | El Paso | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
U.S. Highway 85 orUS 85 is a route in the system ofUnited States Numbered Highways maintained by theTexas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). TheTexas portion of US 85 is located entirely withinEl Paso County beginning at theU.S.-Mexico border between the city ofEl Paso andCiudad Juárez,Chihuahua. The approximately 20-mile (32 km) route briefly overlaysUS 62 in downtown El Paso, then traverses north along the city's west side before merging with the combined route ofInterstate 10 andUS 180. The route then follows I-10 and US 180 through the towns ofVinton andAnthony before crossing theNew Mexico state line into the town ofAnthony, New Mexico, inDoña Ana County.
US 85 was extended south into Texas in 1946. Prior to the completion of I-10 in El Paso, US 85 followed the former route ofUS 80 which is nowSH 20.
US 85 begins at theMexico–United States border between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez at thePaso del Norte International Bridge for northbound traffic and theGood Neighbor International Bridge for southbound traffic. The international bridges overpass without directly intersectingLoop 375. The highway follows theone-way couplet of South El Paso Street northbound and South Stanton Street southbound to Paisano Drive. The route isconcurrent with US 62 from the border to Paisano Drive, where US 85 turns west while US 62 turns east. One block west of El Paso Street, US 85 intersects South Santa Fe Street, which connects to Loop 375. West of downtown, the route becomes a freeway, paralleling theRio Grande and the tracks of theUnion Pacific Railroad and theBNSF Railway west of I-10 and Loop 375. After merging with I-10 and US 180, US 85 remainsconcurrent with them for the remainder of its length in Texas in greater El Paso's west side and upper valley regions. US 85 intersects SH 20 at Mesa Street. At Artcraft Road, the route intersectsSH 178, which, together withNew Mexico State Road 136, connects the route to theSanta Teresa Port of Entry. The route then intersects the northern segment of Loop 375, providing connection toCanutillo andFort Bliss. The highway then leaves El Paso and intersectsSpur 37 in Vinton just west ofWestway. In Anthony, the route intersectsFM 1905 before crossing the state line into New Mexico.[2][3]
US 85 was one of the original U.S. Numbered Highways established by theAmerican Association of State Highway Officials. The first AASHO route log, published in 1927, did not place US 85 in Texas but instead as terminating inLas Cruces, New Mexico.[4] AASHO extended the route south to El Paso in 1946.[1]
The original alignment of US 85 in Texas was entirely concurrent with the former route of US 80 beginning at Texas Ave.[5] and following Mesa St. and then Doniphan Dr. to the New Mexico state line[6] along the current SH 20.[2][3] US 85 was relocated to its current alignment in 1974,[1] partially following the former routing ofU.S. Route 80 (Alt.) after the completion of I-10 in El Paso. The current local TxDOT map shows US 85 terminating on Paisano Dr. at US 62 at S. El Paso St. with no concurrent along US 62 to the border.[2] However, the present route log of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, as AASHO is now known, shows US 85 joining US 62 to the border.[7]
The entire route is inEl Paso County.
| Location | mi[8] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso | 0.00 | 0.00 | Avenida Benito Juárez | One-way street, inbound access only; continuation fromMexico; south end of US 62 overlap; southern terminus of US 85, western terminus of US 62 | |||
| 0.5 | 0.80 |  US 62 east (Paisano Drive east) | North end of US 62 overlap; | ||||
| Spur 1966 east | Western terminus of Spur 1966 | ||||||
 Executive Center Boulevard toI-10 (US 180) | |||||||
| — |   ToNM 273 (McNutt Road) | East end of freeway; westbound exit and southbound entrance | |||||
| — |  Sunland Park Drive toI-10 east (US 180 east) | Westbound exit only | |||||
| — |  Loop 375 east | East end of Loop 375 overlap; eastbound left exit and westbound left entrance; Loop 375 exit 66 | |||||
| — | Racetrack Drive | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |||||
| 13 | Sunland Park Drive | Exit numbers follow I-10 mileage; no westbound exit | |||||
| 12 | Resler Drive | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |||||
| 11 |  SH 20 (Mesa Street) | ||||||
| — |  Loop 375 ends /I-10 /US 180 east | South end of I-10/US 180 overlap; west end of Loop 375 overlap; clockwise terminus of Loop 375; eastbound left exit and northbound left entrance; I-10 exit 13 | |||||
| seeI-10 | |||||||
| Anthony | 19.8 | 31.9 |  I-10 west (US 85 north /US 180 west) | Continuation intoNew Mexico | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Geographic data related toU.S. Route 85 in Texas atOpenStreetMap
 U.S. Route 85 | ||
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