State Highway 85 (SH 85) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

that runs almost from Carrizo Springs to

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

History

SH 85 was originally designated on August 21, 1923 along a route from Eagle Pass to Dilley via Carrizo Springs. On February 17, 1925, it extended to Del Rio. On September 28, 1950, the section from Del Rio to Carrizo Springs was transferred to newly extended

U.S. Highway 277 U.S. Route 277 (US 277, US-277) is a north–south United States Highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 77. It runs for 633 miles (1,019 km) across Oklahoma and Texas. US 277's northern terminus is in Newcastle, Oklahoma at Inter ...

. SH 85 was extended along its current route to Charlotte on December 17, 1961.

Route description

SH 85 begins at an intersection with

US 83 U.S. Route 83 (US 83) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that extends in the central United States. Only four other north–south routes are longer: US 1, US 41, US 59, and US 87, while US ...

in Carrizo Springs. The highway heads east from this junction and has an intersection with FM 1917 before leaving Carrizo Springs. East of the city, the highway heads to the northeast as it intersects FM 1556 and FM 1407 and passes near the Dimmit County Airport. The highway turns back towards the east before a crossing of the

Nueces River The Nueces River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, about long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande. ''Nueces'' ...

. SH 85 turns back towards the northeast after the river crossing before turning back towards the east near Brundage, where it has an intersection with FM 65. The highway continues to the east as it heads towards Big Wells, where it intersects FM 1867. East of Big Wells, the highway once again turns towards the northeast near an intersection with FM 468. SH 85 curves towards the north-northeast before entering Frio County. Once in Frio County, the highway curves back to the east. It curves back towards the northeast as it approaches the city of Dilley. In Dilley, SH 85 has an interchange with

I-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 ...

. Heading east from Dilley, the highway turns back towards the northeast before crossing the

Frio River The Frio River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. The word ''frío'' is Spanish for ''cold'', a clear reference to the spring-fed coolness of the river. Geography The Frio River has three primary tributaries; the East, West, and Dry Frio Ri ...

. SH 85 continues northeast to an intersection with FM 1582 before crossing into Atascosa County. The highway curves back to the east as it enters Atascosa County. The highway ends at SH 97 west of the city limits of

Junction list

References

{{reflist Transportation in Dimmit County, Texas Transportation in Frio County, Texas Transportation in Atascosa County, Texas 085