100 years of US routes: 1926-2026
1926-1940
North: near Ambrose, ND
South: Las Cruces, NM
1940-1946
North: near Fortuna, ND
South: Las Cruces, NM
1946-present
North: near Fortuna, ND
South: El Paso, TX
Mileage: in 1989 AASHTO listed a figure of 1479 miles for US 85. That closely matches our own 2020 measurement, which yielded 1477.0 miles.Want historic mileages? Our handy reference book includes the mileages that were published in all 13 of AASHO/AASHTO's historic route logs (spanning the years 1927 to 1989).
US 85 was an original 1926 route. At the time its south end was in Las Cruces (from there, it was US 80 that carried traffic into El Paso):
Initially US 85 came into Las Cruces from the north via Dona Ana Road and Alameda Boulevard. So prior to about 1933, US 85 would have ended somewhere downtown at an as-yet-indeterminate location.
In about 1933 US 85 traffic was redirected onto Valley Drive, and it may have ended at Picacho Avenue, which today carries westbound US 70, and historically also carried US 80. This next photo was looking west on Picacho, and to the right on Valley (today's NM 185) may have been the south beginning of US 85:
Here is a perspective from the opposite direction (east on Picacho), with the Organ Mountains prominent in the background:
That was once eastbound US 70-80. To the left on Valley may have been the original south beginning of US 85, although it may have overlapped ahead with US 70-80 to Main Street (where those two routes diverged):
That photo was taken heading east on Picacho at Main; US 70 went left, US 80 went right, and US 85 may have ended there. In 1946 the US 85 designation was extended south to El Paso. This photo, looking east on Picacho at Alameda, was taken shortly after that, and it shows the three routes overlapped in Las Cruces...
...however that is inconclusive as far as determining the Las Cruces endpoint, since by that time US 85 had already been extended southward; more info on the El Paso page .
Far off in North Dakota, approaching the north end of US 85 -- instead of veering west and then north at Fortuna to Canada (as it does now) -- US 85 was originally routed east and then north through Ambrose to that port of entry:
This 1932 photo was taken when US 85 was still routed through Ambrose. The customs house was probably brand-new at the time; this was looking northbound at the end of US 85:
That is an example of a Colonial Revival style customs house, which was commonly used at border stations in the northern and northeastern parts of the country (compare to the abandoned customs house on US 2 in Houlton ME). The one at Ambrose is still in use; here is a detail shot:
Just ahead was the international border, and the Canadian port of Torquay on the east side of the road:
In 1940 the north end of US 85 was shifted to its present terminus:
This photo was looking north from the town of Fortuna, and it shows the last northbound US 85 marker:
About six miles ahead from there is the Fortuna border station, at the Oungre port of entry into Canada. Although there was no "End" sign, these photos show the north end of US 85:
In that photo, the customs station at far left is no longer standing; it has since been replaced with the one visible in this next photo:
Visible in the distance is the Canadian checkpoint; it is shown more closely in this photo:
If one were to continue across the border, they would be on Saskatchewan provincial highway 35. Heading south on that highway, this was a view approaching the customs station:
In this photo, we are right next to the building in the middle of the right-of-way; the north beginning of US 85 is just ahead, curving in the distance:
Near the excavator visible in that photo, the first US 85 trailblazer is posted (the backside of this sign is visible in one of the previous photos, above):
Although US 85 runs all the way between the Canada and Mexico borders, its integrity has been compromised in New Mexico and Colorado. After I-25 and I-10 were built, US 85 was rerouted onto interstates all the way through NM. So apparently in 1990 the state decided it was a superfluous route, and nearly all signs have been removed. Traveling north from El Paso, the last US 85 sign drivers will see for about 560 miles is at the Texas/New Mexico border:
A handful of US 85 signs still remain in NM, but they are all relics that refer to the historic (pre-interstate) route. Along the implied (interstate) route, there is no mention of US 85 from Texas to halfway through Colorado. Unlike New Mexico, Colorado has not completely eliminated US 85; however CDoT does not dual-sign US 85 where it runs concurrently with interstates. Instead, US 85 is considered to have two (formerly three) separate segments in the state. The southernmost segment began at I-25's interchange 128 at Fountain... and it never rejoined I-25. Shortly after passing over I-25 (with no access to the freeway), this orphaned segment of US 85 just quietly ended at a nondescript intersection, while the road itself continued ahead as a city arterial. CDoT was severely misguided in continuing to sign a road like that with a US highway shield, and in 2025 they changed the signs along that segment to SH 85 (implying that US 85 traffic simply remains on I-25 through that area).
Colorado's south (formerly middle) segment of US 85 runs between I-25's exit 184 in Castle Rock and exit 208 in Denver (most of this stretch is referred to locally as Santa Fe Drive). This is a legitimate highway, but north of there is an unsigned overlap with I-25 and I-70 through central Denver. Colorado's northernmost segment of US 85 begins at exit 276 on I-70, where it is finally allowed to start behaving in a manner consistent with what one expects from a US highway. From there US 85 runs up into Wyoming, where it gets the respect it deserves.
Research and/or image credits: Chris Elbert; Alan Hamilton; Julian Macdonald; Mike Roberson; Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa; Stephen Taylor; wbaron