Interstate 85

Interstate 85
Route information
Length:	668.75 mi[1] (1,076.25 km)
Major junctions
South end:	I‑65 / US 82 / SR 6 in Montgomery, AL
	I‑75 in Atlanta, GA I‑20 in Atlanta, GA I-26 near Spartanburg, SC I‑77 in Charlotte, NC I‑74 near Archdale, NC I‑73 in Greensboro, NC I‑40 Greensboro to Hillsborough NC
North end:	I‑95 / US 460 in Petersburg, VA
Location
States:	Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business

Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major interstate highway in the Southeastern United States. Its current southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus interchanges with Interstate 95 in Petersburg, Virginia, near Richmond. It is nominally north-south, but physically mostly northeast-southwest. While most interstates that end in a five are cross-country routes, I-85 is mainly a regional route, serving five southeastern states. Major metropolitan areas served by I-85 include the Greater Richmond Region in Virginia, the Research Triangle, Piedmont Triad, and Metrolina regions of North Carolina, Upstate South Carolina, the Atlanta metropolitan area in Georgia, and the Montgomery metropolitan area in Alabama.

Route description

I-85 is a route that serves several major locations in the Southeastern United States, stretching from Alabama to Virginia and major metropolitan areas such as Atlanta and Charlotte.

Lengths

	mi[1]	km
AL	80	130
GA	179.9	292
SC	106.28	172
NC	233.93	377
VA	68.64	112
Total	668.75	1,082

Alabama

City map of Auburn, Alabama, showing I-85 passing south of it

Interstate 85 begins as a fork off Interstate 65 in Montgomery. From there, I-85 parallels U.S. Route 80 until the highway nears Tuskegee. At Tuskegee, I-85 leaves U.S. 80 and starts to parallel U.S. Route 29, which the highway parallels for much of its length.

I-85 also passes near Auburn, Opelika, Valley and Lanett before crossing the Chattahoochee River into Georgia.

Georgia

I-75 co-signed with I-85 in downtown Atlanta, GA

In Georgia, I-85 (unsigned State Route 403) bypasses West Point before coming into the LaGrange area. East of LaGrange, I-85 intersects Interstate 185 which connects to Columbus and Fort Benning. In the Atlanta area, I-85 intersects I-20 and merges with I-75 through the downtown area. North of Atlanta, I-985 provides a link to Gainesville before heading through northeastern Georgia and then crossing into South Carolina.

South Carolina

Interstate 85 North after Exit 1 in Oconee County, South Carolina, in 2008

Interstate 85 provides the major transportation route for the Upstate of South Carolina, linking together the major centers of Greenville and Spartanburg with regional centers of importance. In Spartanburg, BMW has a major manufacturing plant near the highway. In South Carolina, Interstate 85 bypasses Clemson and Anderson on the way to Greenville. Beginning at Anderson, I-85 widens from four to six lanes. Near Powdersville, U.S. 29 joins I-85 and they run concurrently until they cross the Saluda River. Interstate 85 bypasses just south of Greenville, but provides two links into the city via spur routes Interstates 185 and 385. I-85 also bypasses Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, which serves the Greenville-Spartanburg metropolitan area. The portion of I-85 between Highway 14 and Spartanburg is scheduled to be repaved in 2015–2016. ^[2] I-85 then bypasses the city of Spartanburg to the north where its original route is now signed as Business Loop 85 and was approved by AASHTO on April 22, 1995.^[3] Near mile marker 70, I-85 intersects with I-26. The exits are signed as exits 70A for east-bound traffic and 70B for west-bound traffic. North of Spartanburg, I-85 narrows from six lanes back to four lanes and bypasses Gaffney. Much of the terrain between Spartanburg and the North Carolina border is rural in nature.

North Carolina

I-40/85 through Burlington, North Carolina

In North Carolina, I-85 enters a relatively rural area near Kings Mountain before entering the Gastonia and Charlotte areas. In Charlotte, I-85 bypasses Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and turns northeastward just before reaching uptown Charlotte; thus I-85 just bypasses uptown to the north where it junctions with Interstate 77. North of Charlotte, the highway passes near Concord, Salisbury, Lexington and High Point before reaching Greensboro. At Greensboro, I-85 shifts away from downtown Business I-85 (old I-85 through town). I-85 then joins I-40 east of downtown, and the two highways are cosigned as they pass through Burlington, Graham and Mebane then separate near Hillsborough where I-40 turns toward Chapel Hill, Cary and Raleigh. From Durham, I-85 turns northeastward and heads toward Virginia.

Virginia

I-85's terminus at I-95 near Petersburg, VA

Starting from the Virginia border, drivers will pass South Hill and McKenney before heading into a large forest. After the forest, Interstate 85 reaches Petersburg and ends at Interstate 95. The highway is briefly cosigned with U.S. Route 460 from a few miles west of Petersburg in Dinwiddie County to I-95. I-85 follows the same general path as US 1 (Boydton Plank Road and Jefferson Davis Highway), as the two cross several times between the North Carolina border and the northern terminus outside of Petersburg.

History

In the northern half of I-85, the route roughly parallels an ancient Indian trading path documented since colonial times from Petersburg, Virginia to the Catawba Indian territory.

I-85 near Petersburg once formed the southern end of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike, which was completed in 1958. The tolls were removed in 1992 after Interstate 295 was completed.^[4]

Before a 2010 decision to raise the speed limit in the state to 70, Virginia's portion of I-85 was also the only Interstate Highway in the state with a posted speed limit greater than 65 miles per hour (105 kilometers per hour). It was raised from 65 mph (105 km/h) to 70 mph (113 km/h) on July 1, 2006, by the state legislature.

In 2004, I-85 was rerouted around Greensboro; and it split with I-40 eight miles (13 km) east of the original departure point. I-40 ran with I-85 along the bypass to the southern/western end and I-40 continued on a new freeway alignment at Exit 121 until September 2008, when it was rerouted back to its old alignment through the city. Despite its reroute around Greensboro, the overall length for I-85 in North Carolina (233 miles/373 km) remains the same as before.

Future

An extension of Interstate 85 is proposed west from Montgomery to interchange with Interstate 20 and Interstate 59 just east of the Mississippi-Alabama state line,^[5] where it will connect with I-20 and I-59 near Cuba, Alabama. This extension will roughly follow the route of U.S. 80, going through or bypassing Selma and Demopolis.^[6] The FHWA approved the alignment on February 17, 2011 after AASHTO approved at its Fall 2010 meeting in Biloxi, Mississippi. Also approved was the proposal to re-designate part of existing I-85 south and east of Montgomery to be bypassed as part of the extension of I-85 as I-685. Alabama has permission to co-sign this part of I-85 as I-685 until the new alignment is built.^[7] This section is also envisioned by some as part of a proposed Interstate 14.

If this extension were to be completed, I-85 and I-20 would meet each other twice.

Interstate 85 is scheduled to have several new auxiliary routes in the future. Interstate 285 is also planned to follow part of the U.S. Route 52 freeway from Lexington to Winston-Salem, both in North Carolina. Interstate 785 is currently planned by the North Carolina Department of Transportation to run from Greensboro to Danville, Virginia. The proposed route would follow the current U.S. 29 corridor. There are plans for I-85 from Anderson County, South Carolina to Spartanburg County, South Carolina to become four to five lanes in each direction including HOV lanes, if it is funded it will start construction in 2012.

Major junctions

• I‑65 in Montgomery, Alabama
• I‑185 near LaGrange, Georgia.
• I‑285 near College Park, Georgia. I-85 intersects this highway twice.
• I‑75 in Atlanta. The two highways run concurrently through much of the city.
• I‑20 in Atlanta.
• I‑985 near Buford, Georgia.
• I-185 near Greenville, South Carolina.
• I-385 near Greenville.
• I-26 near Spartanburg, South Carolina.
• I-585 near Spartanburg via Business Loop 85. An extension is currently underway that will extend I-585 to I-85.
• I‑485 in Charlotte, North Carolina. I-85 intersects I-485 twice.
• I‑77 in Charlotte.
• I‑40 in Greensboro, North Carolina. They travel concurrently until Hillsborough, North Carolina.
• I‑73 in Greensboro.
• I‑95 / US 460 in Petersburg, Virginia. (Map)

Alabama exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Montgomery	Montgomery			0	I‑65 / Day Street – Mobile, Birmingham	Southern terminus; continues westward as Day Street; I-65 exit 171
				1	Downtown Montgomery – Alabama State University, State Capitol
				2	Forest Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				2	Mulberry Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
				3	Ann Street
				4	Perry Hill Road
				6	US 80 / US 231 (East Boulevard) – Alabama Shakespeare Festival	South end of US 80 overlap
				9	SR 271 (Taylor Road) – Auburn University at Montgomery
				11	SR 110 / SR 126 (Atlanta Highway) – Mitylene, Mount Meigs
				16	US 80 – Mount Meigs, Waugh	North end of US 80 overlap
Macon				22	SR 138 north – Shorter	AL-138 is not signed at this exit
				26	SR 229 north – Tallassee
				32	SR 49 – Dadeville
				38	SR 81 – Notasulga, Tuskegee
				42	SR 186 east – Tuskegee National Forest
Lee	Auburn			50	Cox Road
				51	US 29 south / SR 147 (College Street) – Tuskegee, Auburn University	South end of US 29 overlap
				57	Bent Creek Road – Auburn-Opelika Robert G. Pitts Airport
				58	US 280 west (Gateway Drive)	South end of US 280 overlap
	Opelika			60	SR 51 – Opelika, Marvyn
				62	US 280 east / US 431 / SR 1 – Lafayette, Phenix City	North end of US 280 overlap
				64	US 29 north / SR 15 – Opelika, Valley	North end of US 29 overlap
				66	Andrews Road
Chambers				70	County Road 388
	Valley			77	Philips Road, Fob James Drive
				79	US 29 / SR 15 – Valley
Chattahoochee River				I-85 continues into Georgia
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

Auxiliary routes

Business routes

• Interstate 85 Business Loop in Lexington, High Point and Greensboro, North Carolina.
• Interstate 85 Business Loop in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

See also

• Death Valley (North Carolina)
• Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike
• I-85 Rivalry

References

Route map: Bing / Google

1. "Route Log and Finder List — Interstate System: Table 1". FHWA. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
2. "Plans Continue for I-385, I-85 Interchange Expansion". 12 June 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
3. Interstate [e-mail] Courtesy AARoads. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
4. Kozel, Scott Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike (I-95/I-85) and I-285 Retrieved 27 May 2007.
5. Volkert and Associates, I-85 Extension Corridor Study & EUIS
6. Hinnen, Jerry. Shelby shares views with Hale, Greene counties Posted by the Demopolis Times, 17 January 2005.
7. FHWA letter downloaded from http://cms.transportation.org/sites/route/docs/Alabama%20Interstate%20FHWA%20Decision%20Letter.pdf April 14, 2011

Browse numbered routes
← US 84	AL	SR 85 →