Federal Highway 85 (''Carretera Federal 85'') connects

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

with the

Mexico–United States border The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traver ...

Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, United States. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Lare ...

. Highway 85 runs through

Monterrey, Nuevo León Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

;

Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas Ciudad Victoria () is the seat of the Municipality of Victoria, and the capital of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located in the northeast of Mexico at the foot of the Sierra Madre Oriental. It borders the municipality of Güémez to ...

;

Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosí Ciudad Valles is the second-largest city in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. It is located in the eastern part of the state (), in the cultural region of Huasteca. The city is also the municipal seat of the surrounding municipality of the ...

; and Pachuca, Hidalgo. It ends at the intersection of

Highway 95 Route 95, or Highway 95, may refer to routes in the following countries: __TOC__ International * European route E95 Australia * Great Northern Highway (Western Australia) * Fossickers Way (New South Wales) Canada * British Columbia Highway 95 * ...

in the San Pedro area of

. Highway 85 is the original route of the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

from the border to the capital as well as the

Inter-American Highway The Inter-American Highway (IAH) is the Central American section of the Pan-American Highway and spans between Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Panama City, Panama. History The idea of a road being built across all of Central America became a tangible ...

. Through most of

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

and

Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...

, it is a

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

and is essentially a southern continuation of U.S.

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

. Highway 85 has two alternate toll routes ( Autopistas); both are named

Carretera Federal 85D Carretera (Spanish "highway") may refer to: *''La Carretera'', album by Julio Iglesias 1995 * "La Carretera" (song), 2016 song by American singer Prince Royce See also *Carretera Central (disambiguation) *Carretera Austral, Chile *Carretera de Cá ...

; one is from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey (123.1 kilometers MXN$177) and Pachuca to Mexico City (45.8 kilometers MXN$33). Highway 85D has wider lanes, offers a more direct route, and is continuously being repaired and repaved.Mexican Autopistas technical information and tolls
/ref>

Major highway intersections

Description

Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, to Monterrey, Nuevo León

Federal Highway 85 is a 6-lane divided unrestricted access road from Nuevo Laredo to

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

. Gateway to the Americas International Bridge in Nuevo Laredo is the highway's starting point. In Nuevo Laredo MFH 85 is also known as Reforma Avenue passing through Downtown Nuevo Laredo and Nuevo Laredo's main commercial districts and Industrial Parks. At kilometer 26 there is a Mexican customs stop known as Garita Kilómetro 26. All vehicles exiting the border area are required to stop for inspection and proof of citizenship is required. The highway is divided into Highway 85 (known as ''la libre''; the "free road") and the toll Highway 85D (known as ''la cuota'') whose starting point at the

World Trade International Bridge The World Trade International Bridge is one of four international bridges located in the cities of Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, that connect the United States and Mexico over the Rio Grande (Río Bravo). It is owned and operat ...

in Nuevo Laredo then connects with MFH85 then splitting again after the Mexican check point. At about midway between Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey, Highway 85 crosses the

Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...

mountain range (at the ''Paso de Mamulique''). Highway 85 passes through several cities and small towns including: * Nuevo Laredo *

Sabinas Hidalgo Sabinas is a city in Sabinas Municipality of the same name located in the northeastern quadrant of the state of Coahuila in Mexico. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía. Principales resultados por localidad 2005 (ITER). Retrieved on N ...

Salinas Victoria Salinas Victoria, is a municipality located to in the center of the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. It shares borders with 11 municipalities including, to the north Villaldama and Sabinas Hidalgo; to the south Escobedo and Apodaca; to the east Higu ...

* Escobedo *

San Nicolás de los Garza San Nicolás de los Garza, sometimes known only as San Nicolás, is a city and coextensive municipality in the Mexican state of Nuevo León that is part of the Monterrey metropolitan area. It has become primarily a city for residences and family h ...

Monterrey, Nuevo León to Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas

Federal Highway 85 in Monterrey is mainly a 6-lane divided unrestricted access road. In Monterrey the highway intersects various highways and loops. At the southern end it becomes a 4-lane divided highway leading to

Linares, Nuevo León Linares is a small city in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. The city serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name and it is the largest urban centre of the so-called "orange belt" region. The city had a 20 ...

. From Linares to Ciudad Victoria the highway becomes a 2 lane road. Highway 85 passes through several cities and small towns including: *

Montemorelos Montemorelos is a city and surrounding municipality of 60,829 inhabitants located in the Northern Mexican state of Nuevo León, in the valley of the Pilon River. It was named after José María Morelos. History In 1637, Governor Martín de Zaval ...

* Linares * Allende *

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

* Villagrán * Hidalgo * Ciudad Victoria

Ciudad Victoria, Tamulipas to Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas

Federal Highway 85 is a 2 lane divided highway from Ciudad Victoria to

Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas Mante, formally Ciudad Mante, is a city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city is the municipal seat of El Mante municipality in extreme southern Tamaulipas, and lies in the northwestern portion of the municipality. It had a 2005 census p ...

. Highway 85 passes through mainly rural areas.

Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas to Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosí

Federal Highway 85 is a 2 lane divided highway from

. Highway 85 passes through mainly rural areas.

Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosí to Pachuca, Hidalgo

Federal Highway 85 is a 2 lane divided highway from

Actopan, Hidalgo ''Actopan'' ( Otomi: Ma’yüts’i) is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 280.1 km. It is crossed by the federal road that runs from Mexico City to Nuevo Laredo a ...

. From Actopan to Pachuca, Hidalgo it becomes a 4 lane divided highway. Highway 85 passes through several cities and small towns including: *

Tamazunchale Tamazunchale is a town and municipality in the state of San Luis Potosí, central Mexico. In 2010 the area of the municipality was and the population was 96,820. The population of the town was 24,562. Etymology The name Tamazunchale (Tam-uxum-t ...

Axtla de Terrazas Axtla de Terrazas is one of the 58 municipalities in San Luis Potosí in central Mexico. The municipality was founded 1826, its name comes from Nahuatl (astlan) and is interpreted as: "Place of white herons", it was added de Terrazas in honor of ...

* Ixmiquilpan *Actopan *

Pachuca Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whic ...

Pachuca, Hidalgo to Mexico City

Federal Highway 85 is a 4 lane divided highway from Pachuca, Hidalgo to

. Highway 85 passes through several cities and small towns including: * Villanueva * Ecatepec * Teotihuacán de Arista *

References

{{Mexican Federal Highways 085 085 Transportation in Hidalgo Transportation in Mexico City Transportation in Nuevo León Transportation in San Luis Potosí Transportation in the State of Mexico Transportation in Tamaulipas Ciudad Victoria 1936 establishments in Mexico