Interstate 85 (I-85) is a part of the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

that runs from

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

, to

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...

. In

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, the Interstate Highway runs from the

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

state line near Bracey north to I-95 in Petersburg. I-85 passes through the eastern part of Southside, where it parallels US Route 1 (US 1) from Petersburg, where the highway runs concurrently with US 460, to south of South Hill, where the highway intersects Southside's major east–west highway, US 58. The Interstate Highway is the primary connection between the

Greater Richmond Region The Greater Richmond Region, also known as the Richmond metropolitan area or Central Virginia, is a region and metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Virginia, centered on Richmond. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines the are ...

and

Research Triangle The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Anchored by the cities of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh an ...

and other major metropolitan areas of North Carolina. Like all mainline Interstate Highways, I-85 is a part of the National Highway System for its entire length in Virginia.

Route description

I-85 enters Virginia in Mecklenburg County southwest of Bracey. The Interstate Highway continues southwest toward Henderson and Durham. Northbound I-85 has a welcome center before the highway crosses Lake Gaston, an impoundment of the

Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the ...

, on a causeway and bridge before reaching an interchange with State Route 903 (SR 903) at Bracey. The freeway passes through the town of South Hill, where the highway has a

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange (road), interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passe ...

with US 58 (Atlantic Avenue). US 58 serves as the major east–west highway of Southside; the US Route provides access to La Crosse, Brodnax, Lawrenceville, and Emporia to the east and Boydton and Clarksville to the west. US 58 leads to SR 47, which provides access to Chase City. North of the town of South Hill, I-85 has a junction with US 1 (Mecklenburg Avenue), which parallels the Interstate Highway from Henderson to Petersburg. The US 1 interchange also provides access to SR 138, which heads north toward Kenbridge. North of US 1, I-85 enters Brunswick County just before the highway crosses the Meherrin River. The Interstate Highway has an interchange with SR 644 (Brunswick Drive) at Meredithville and a partial interchange with SR 46 (Christanna Highway) before the freeway crosses to the east side of US 1 (Boydton Plank Road) at an interchange southwest of the town of

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. The SR 46 and US 1 interchanges provide access to St. Paul's College in Lawrenceville and the Christanna campus of

Southside Virginia Community College Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) is a public community college with two campuses in Virginia, one near Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of t ...

at the US 1/SR 46 intersection. Northeast of Alberta, I-85 has

rest area A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, Limited-access road, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names ...

s in both directions and interchanges with SR 630 (Sturgeon Road) at Sturgeonville and SR 712 (Old Stage Road) near Rawlings. I-85 crosses the Nottoway River into Dinwiddie County southwest of its interchanges with SR 40 (McKenney Highway) near the town of

McKenney McKenney is an incorporated town in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, United States. The population was 483 at the 2010 census. History McKenney is located along a former railroad mainline. The Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad, passing throu ...

and SR 650 (Hamilton Arms Road) at DeWitt. The Interstate Highway serves Dinwiddie via its

partial cloverleaf interchange A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...

with SR 703 (Carson Road) just east of the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Dinwiddie County and another pair of rest areas. The Dinwiddie interchange and the following interchange with US 460 (Cox Road) provide access to Virginia Motorsports Park. At the partial cloverleaf interchange with US 460, which also leads to Dinwiddie County Airport, the Interstate Highway and US Route start to run concurrently toward Petersburg. Both the US 460 interchange and the following partial cloverleaf junction with US 1 (Boydton Plank Road) provide access to the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier at Pamplin Historical Park. East of US 1, the freeway curves to the east and changes from having a wide, forested median to a

Jersey barrier A Jersey barrier, Jersey wall, or Jersey bump is a modular concrete or plastic barrier employed to separate lanes of traffic. It is designed to minimize vehicle damage in cases of incidental contact while still preventing vehicle crossovers resu ...

separating the twin carriageways. I-85 enters the city of Petersburg prior to its junction with Squirrel Level Road. South of downtown Petersburg, I-85 reaches its northern terminus at a

trumpet interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, usi ...

with I-95. The southern end of the interchange has a ramp from northbound I-85 to southbound I-95. Here, US 460 joins I-95 south through an interchange with US 301 (Crater Road), south of which the US Route separates from I-95 on its way to

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. I-85 curves north and merges with I-95 in the direction of Richmond adjacent to the loop ramp from northbound I-95 to southbound I-85. Just before merging with northbound I-95, I-85 has its final exit, a ramp that leads to the

one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descriptio ...

of eastbound Wythe Street and westbound Washington Street in Historic Old Towne Petersburg. Wythe Street leads to

Petersburg National Battlefield Petersburg National Battlefield is a National Park Service unit preserving sites related to the American Civil War Siege of Petersburg (1864–65). The battlefield is near the city of Petersburg, Virginia, and includes outlying components in Hop ...

;

Fort Gregg-Adams Fort Lee (formerly Fort Gregg-Adams), in Prince George County, Virginia is a United States Army post and headquarters of the United States Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM)/ Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE), the United States Ar ...

, which contains the US Army Quartermaster Museum and US Army Women's Museum; and the city of Hopewell via SR 36.

History

Exit list

References

External links

Virginia Highways Project: I-85
*Virginia at AARoads
Interstate 85 north
an
Interstate 85 south
{{DEFAULTSORT:Interstate 85 In Virginia 85 Virginia Interstate 085 Interstate 085 Interstate 085 Interstate 085