# Georgia State Route 85

State Route 85 (SR 85) is a 96.5-mile-long (155.3 km) state highway in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. It travels within portions of Muscogee, Harris, Talbot, Meriwether, Coweta, Fayette, and Clayton counties. It connects the Columbus and Forest Park areas, via Manchester, Woodbury, Senoia, Fayetteville, and Riverdale.

## Route description
### Muscogee and Harris counties

GA SR 85 begins at an intersection with US 27/SR 1 in downtown Columbus. It continues to the northwest until it meets the southern terminus of SR 22 Connector. SR 85 then heads east and meets SR 219 before it has a second intersection with US 27/SR 1. At that intersection, US 27 Alt. begins, running concurrent with SR 85, up to the Harris–Talbot county line, where US 27 Alt. north/SR 85 Alt. north/SR 116 west take the left fork at an intersection while SR 85 north and SR 116 east take the right one.

### Talbot County

Less than 0.5 miles (0.80 km) into Talbot County, SR 116 splits off to the east, while SR 85 continues to the northeast. Just before entering Manchester, SR 85 intersects SR 41, which begins a short concurrency into Meriwether County and Manchester.

### Meriwether County

SR 41 and SR 85 intersect the eastern terminus of SR 190 just inside of the Manchester city limits. At 2nd Street, SR 41 departs to the northwest, while SR 85 heads into downtown. Then, SR 85 turns to the east, while SR 85 Spur continues straight ahead. In Woodbury, SR 85 meets SR 18/SR 74/SR 109. At this intersection, SR 74 turns to the north, concurrent with SR 85. They reach the northern terminus of SR 85 Alternate. Farther to the north, in Gay, is the eastern terminus of SR 109 Spur. In the unincorporated community of Alps, they intersect SR 362, which briefly joins the concurrency. Less than 3 miles (4.8 km) later, SR 74 and 85 reach the Meriwether–Coweta county line.

### Coweta County

The concurrent highways travel through Haralson and enter the southeast part of Senoia. There, they intersect with SR 16. Less than 2 miles (3.2 km) later, they cross over Line Creek, into Fayette County.

### Fayette County

SR 74 and 85 enter Starrs Mill, where SR 74 departs to the northwest, while SR 85 continues to the northeast. In Fayetteville, it intersects SR 92, which forms a concurrency through the city, meeting SR 54 before SR 92 departs to the northwest. Further north, after SR 314 and SR 279 terminate at SR 85, the highway crosses over Camp Creek, into Clayton County.

### Clayton County

On the southwestern edge of Riverdale, SR 85 intersects SR 138. Approximately 2,000 feet (610 m) north is the southern terminus of SR 139 (Church Street). Farther to the north is the western terminus of SR 331, which the northbound lanes of SR 85 have to take to access I-75. SR 85's northbound lanes continue for another 3,000 feet (910 m), and then they end at a U-turn to go back to the south. However, the southbound lanes start at a partial interchange with I-75 (which does not have access from I-75 north to SR 85) and I-285, approximately 1,500 feet (460 m) farther to the north-northeast.

### National Highway System

There are two sections of SR 85 that are part of the National Highway System, a system of routes determined to be the most important for the nation's economy, mobility, and defense:
* From its southern terminus to the Muscogee–Harris county line, south-southwest of Ellerslie
* From its intersection with SR 54 in Fayetteville to its northern terminus

## Major intersections

| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
| Muscogee | Columbus | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 27 / SR 1 (Veterans Parkway) / 14th Street east – Cusseta, LaGrange, Macon | Southern terminus; 14th Street continues past the southern terminus; 14th Street provides access to Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital. |
| Muscogee | Columbus | 2.6 | 4.2 | SR 22 Conn. east (2nd Avenue north) / Manchester Expressway west – West Point, Phenix City | Western terminus of SR 22 Conn.; SR 22 Conn. takes on 2nd Avenue name, while SR 85 turns right, onto Manchester Expressway. |
| Muscogee | Columbus | 3.0 | 4.8 | SR 219 (River Road) – LaGrange | |
| Muscogee | Columbus | 3.5 | 5.6 | US 27 / SR 1 (Veterans Parkway) / US 27 Alt. begins – Hamilton, Ft. Moore, Civil War Naval Museum | Southern end of US 27 Alt. concurrency; southern terminus of US 27 Alt. |
| Muscogee | Columbus | 4.8 | 7.7 | I-185 (SR 411) – Ft. Moore, Atlanta | I-185 exit 7 |
| Muscogee | Columbus | 6.9 | 11.1 | Warm Springs Road Connector | Interchange |
| Muscogee | Columbus | 9.1 | 14.6 | Miller Road | Interchange |
| Muscogee | Midland | 10.3 | 16.6 | US 80 / SR 22 (J.R. Allen Parkway) / SR 540 (Fall Line Freeway) – Phenix City, Macon | Interchange |
| Muscogee | Midland | 14.1 | 22.7 | County Line Road | Interchange |
| Harris | Ellerslie | 17.8 | 28.6 | SR 315 west – Cataula | Southern end of SR 315 concurrency |
| Harris | Ellerslie | 18.3 | 29.5 | SR 315 east (Talbotton Road) / Old Warm Springs Road west – Talbotton | Northern end of SR 315 concurrency; eastern terminus of Old Warm Springs Road |
| Harris | Waverly Hall | 24.1 | 38.8 | SR 208 – Hamilton, Talbotton | |
| Harris–Talbot county line | ​ | 31.2 | 50.2 | US 27 Alt. north / SR 85 Alt. north / SR 116 west (Warm Springs Road) – Warm Springs, Shiloh, Roosevelt Rehab. Inst. | Northern end of US 27 Alt. concurrency; southern end of SR 116 concurrency; southern terminus of SR 85 Alt. |
| Talbot | ​ | 31.6 | 50.9 | SR 116 east (Rush Creek Drive) – Woodland | Northern end of SR 116 concurrency |
| Talbot | ​ | 37.4 | 60.2 | SR 41 south – Talbotton | Southern end of SR 41 concurrency |
| Meriwether | Manchester | 37.8 | 60.8 | SR 190 west (Pine Mountain Highway) – Pine Mountain, F.D. Roosevelt State Park | Eastern terminus of SR 190 |
| Meriwether | Manchester | 38.3 | 61.6 | SR 41 north (Second Street) – Warm Springs | Northern end of SR 41 concurrency |
| Meriwether | Manchester | 38.8 | 62.4 | SR 85 Spur west (Truitt Street north) – Warm Springs | Eastern terminus of SR 85 Spur; SR 85 Spur takes on the Truitt Street name, while SR 85 turns right onto Foster Street. |
| Meriwether | Woodbury | 48.5 | 78.1 | SR 18 / SR 74 east / SR 109 (Main Street) – Greenville, Zebulon | Southern end of SR 74 concurrency |
| Meriwether | Woodbury | 49.2 | 79.2 | SR 85 Alt. south (Whitehouse Parkway) – Warm Springs | Northern terminus of SR 85 Alt. |
| Meriwether | Gay | 56.3 | 90.6 | SR 109 Spur west (Greenville Street) / Caldwell Road east – Greenville | Eastern terminus of SR 109 Spur; western terminus of Caldwell Road |
| Meriwether | Alps | 61.3 | 98.7 | SR 362 west (Callaway Road) – Greenville | Southern end of SR 362 concurrency |
| Meriwether | Alvaton | 62.2 | 100.1 | SR 362 east (Griffin Highway) – Griffin | North end of SR 362 concurrency |
| Coweta | Senoia | 71.2 | 114.6 | SR 16 – Turin, Griffin | |
| Fayette | Starrs Mill | 74.3 | 119.6 | SR 74 north (Joel Cowan Parkway) / Padgett Road south – Peachtree City | North end of SR 74 concurrency; northern terminus of Padgett Road; SR 74 provides access to Atlanta Regional Airport |
| Fayette | ​ | | | Old Highway 85 north | Southern terminus of Old Highway 85; former SR 85 north |
| Fayette | Fayetteville | 82.3 | 132.4 | SR 92 south / Ramah Road west – Griffin | Southern end of SR 92 concurrency; eastern terminus of Ramah Road |
| Fayette | Fayetteville | 83.6 | 134.5 | SR 54 east (Stonewall Avenue) – Jonesboro | Eastbound lanes of SR 54 on one-way pair |
| Fayette | Fayetteville | 83.6 | 134.5 | SR 54 west (Lanier Avenue) – Peachtree City | Westbound lanes of SR 54 on one-way pair; provides access to Piedmont Fayette Hospital |
| Fayette | Fayetteville | 84.2 | 135.5 | SR 92 north (Forrest Avenue) / Easterbrook Way east – Fairburn | Northern end of SR 92 concurrency; western terminus of Easterbrook Way |
| Fayette | Fayetteville | 84.8 | 136.5 | SR 314 north (Jeff Davis Drive) – College Park | Southern terminus of SR 314 |
| Fayette | ​ | 88.3 | 142.1 | SR 279 north – College Park | Southern terminus of SR 279 |
| Clayton | Riverdale | 91.2 | 146.8 | SR 138 – Union City, Jonesboro | |
| Clayton | Riverdale | 91.6 | 147.4 | SR 139 north (Main Street) / Valley Hill Road east – College Park | Southern terminus of SR 139; western terminus of Valley Hill Road |
| Clayton | ​ | 95.8 | 154.2 | SR 331 east (Forest Parkway east) to I-75 – Forest Park, Lake City Forest Parkway west to Clark Howell Highway | Western terminus of SR 331; northbound SR 85 traffic must take this intersection to access I-75. |
| Clayton | ​ | 96.4 | 155.1 | U-turn back to southbound SR 85 | Northbound lanes are closed, so traffic must U-turn back to the south. |
| Clayton | ​ | 96.8 | 155.8 | I-75 (SR 401) / I-285 (Atlanta Bypass / SR 407) | No entrance ramps from SR 85 north to I-75 or from I-75 north to SR 85; I-75 exit 237A; I-285 exit 58 |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access ||||||

## History
### 1930s

In 1930, SR 85 was established from Columbus to SR 41 in Warm Springs, with the Muscogee County portion and a small portion just slightly north of the Muscogee–Harris county line having a completed hard surface. By the middle of 1933, the portion of the highway from about Ellerslie to Warm Springs had a "sand clay or top soil" surface. The next year, the segment of the highway just south-southwest of Warm Springs was shifted westward to a curve into the city. In 1935, SR 85 was extended southeast on SR 41 to Manchester and then north-northeast through Woodbury and Senoia and into Fayetteville. At the end of 1936, two segments were under construction: around Shiloh and just west-southwest of Warm Springs. A few months later, SR 85 was extended north-northeast to US 19/US 41/SR 3 in Hapeville. By the middle of the year, a portion from approximately halfway between Waverly Hall and Shiloh to Warm Springs was under construction. Near the end of the year, the entire highway from Columbus to just south-southwest of Waverly Hall had a completed hard surface. A portion north-northeast of Waverly Hall was under construction, while the rest of the Waverly Hall–Warm Springs segment had completed grading, but was not surfaced. In 1938, a portion about halfway between Woodbury and Gay was under construction. A portion south of the Meriwether–Coweta county line under construction, as well. The portion just north-northeast of Riverdale was under construction, while the rest of the Riverdale–Hapeville segment had completed grading, but was not surfaced. By mid-1939, a small portion just south of Waverly Hall had a completed hard surface. Near the end of the year, a small portion just north-northeast of Senoia had a completed hard surface. The year ended with the segment from Waverly Hall to Warm Springs having a completed hard surface.

### 1940s

In 1940, SR 163 was built from Warm Springs to Woodbury. From Manchester to approximately halfway between it and Woodbury, as well as the Gay–Oakland and Clayton County portions, SR 85 was under construction. From approximately halfway between Woodbury and Gay into Gay, SR 85 had completed grading, but was not surfaced. By the middle of 1941, SR 163's segment just northeast of Warm Springs was under construction. At the end of the year, a portion of SR 85 just east-northeast of Manchester, as well as a segment from the Fayette–Clayton county line to Riverdale, had a completed hard surface. At this time, a portion of the highway from south of Woodbury had completed grading, but was not surfaced. In 1942, a portion of SR 163 northeast of Warm Springs, as well as the Fayette County portion of the Fayetteville–Riverdale segment of SR 85, had completed grading, but was not surfaced. SR 85, from north-northeast of Starrs Mill to Fayetteville was under construction. The next year, a portion northeast of Manchester had a completed hard surface. In 1944, a portion south of Woodbury had a sand clay or top soil surface. Also, the Gay–Alvaton segment had completed grading, but was not surfaced. By the end of 1946, SR 85 was shifted eastward to a more direct path between Columbus and Manchester. Its old path between south of Shiloh and Warm Springs was redesignated as a southerly extension of SR 163. SR 85 Spur was built in Manchester from SR 41 to SR 85. The entire length of SR 85 from Columbus to Chalybeate Springs had a completed hard surface. A small portion north-northeast of Chalybeate Springs had a sand clay or top soil surface; the portion from there to Woodbury had a completed hard surface. Between 1946 and 1948, the Chalybeate Springs–Woodbury and Starrs Mill–Hapeville segments had a completed hard surface, while the Woodbury–Senoia segment had a "sand clay, top soil, or stabilized earth" surface. The next year, from Woodbury to just north-northwest of Gay, SR 85 had a completed hard surface.

### 1950s

By the middle of 1950, US 27 Alt. was designated on SR 85 between Columbus and a point south of Shiloh and on SR 163 from there to Warm Springs. The segment of SR 85 from just north-northwest of Gay to Starrs Mill had a completed hard surface. By 1952, SR 163 was redesignated as SR 85W. That year, SR 85W's segment south of Warm Springs was reverted to being designated as SR 163. The next year, this was undone. Also, the segment of SR 85W from Warm Springs to Woodbury had completed grading, but was not surfaced. By the middle of 1955, this segment was hard surfaced. Two years later, SR 85 from south of Shiloh to Woodbury was redesignated as SR 85E.

### 1960s to 1990s

Between 1960 and 1963, US 27 Alt. was shifted eastward onto SR 85E from south of Shiloh to Manchester. Between 1963 and 1966, the northern terminus was truncated to its current location in the extreme western part of Forest Park. About thirty years later, SR 85W was redesignated SR 85 Alt., while SR 85E was redesignated as part of the SR 85 mainline again.
When I-75 was first constructed, both directions of SR 85 connected to it at a partial Y interchange, just south of the interchange with I-285. Eventually, it became clear that the on-ramp carrying northbound SR 85 and the off-ramp for I-285 east were too close together, causing weaving on northbound I-75. Therefore, by the late 1970s, the entrance ramp to I-75 was relocated to diverge from nearby SR 331. The preexisting northbound ramp from SR 85 to I-75 was then truncated to end in the current U-turn. The area where the old ramp once stood is now covered over with trees.

## Special routes
### Alternate route

State Route 85 Alternate (SR 85 Alt.) is a 18.7-mile-long (30.1 km) alternate route of SR 85 that connects the Shiloh and Woodbury areas, via Warm Springs. From its southern terminus to Warm Springs, it is concurrent with U.S. Route 27 Alternate (US 27 Alt.).
The highway that would eventually become SR 85 Alt. was established in 1930, SR 85 was established from south of Shiloh to SR 41 in Warm Springs, with the Muscogee County portion and a small portion just slightly north of the Muscogee–Harris county line having a completed hard surface. By the middle of 1933, the portion of the highway from about Ellerslie to Warm Springs had a "sand clay or top soil" surface. The next year, the segment of the highway just south-southwest of Warm Springs was shifted westward to a curve into the city. At the end of 1936, two segments were under construction: around Shiloh and just west-southwest of Warm Springs. By the middle of the year, a portion from approximately halfway between Waverly Hall and Shiloh to Warm Springs was under construction. Near the end of the year, the entire highway from Columbus to just south-southwest of Waverly Hall had a completed hard surface. A portion north-northeast of Waverly Hall was under construction, while the rest of the Waverly Hall–Warm Springs segment had completed grading, but was not surfaced. By mid-1939, a small portion just south of Waverly Hall had a completed hard surface. The year ended with the segment from Waverly Hall to Warm Springs having a completed hard surface.
In 1940, SR 163 was built from Warm Springs to Woodbury. By the middle of 1941, SR 163's segment just northeast of Warm Springs was under construction. In 1942, a portion of SR 163 northeast of Warm Springs had completed grading, but was not surfaced. By the end of 1946, SR 85 was shifted eastward to a more direct path between Columbus and Manchester. Its old path between south of Shiloh and Warm Springs was redesignated as a southerly extension of SR 163. By the middle of 1950, US 27 Alt. was designated on SR 163 from south of Shiloh to Warm Springs. By 1952, SR 163 was redesignated as SR 85W. That year, SR 85W's segment south of Warm Springs was reverted to being designated as SR 163. The next year, this was undone. Also, the segment of SR 85W from Warm Springs to Woodbury had completed grading, but was not surfaced. By the middle of 1955, this segment was hard surfaced. Between 1960 and 1963, US 27 Alt. was shifted eastward off of SR 85W and onto SR 85E. About thirty-three years later, SR 85W was redesignated as SR 85 Alt.
| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
| Harris–Talbot county line | ​ | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 27 Alt. south / SR 85 / SR 116 east – Columbus, Manchester | Southern terminus; southern end of US 27 Alt. and SR 116 concurrencies |
| Harris | Shiloh | 1.8 | 2.9 | SR 116 west / Ashmore Road east – Hamilton | Northern end of SR 116 concurrency; western terminus of Ashmore Road |
| Talbot | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions |
| Meriwether | ​ | 5.0 | 8.0 | SR 190 (Pine Mountain Highway) – Pine Mountain, Manchester, F.D. Roosevelt State Park, Pine Mountain Trail | |
| Meriwether | Warm Springs | 8.5 | 13.7 | US 27 Alt. north / SR 41 (Spring Street) – Greenville, Manchester, Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery, Roosevelt Rehab. Inst. | Northern end of US 27 Alt. concurrency |
| Meriwether | ​ | 12.9 | 20.8 | SR 173 south (Raleigh Road) – Raleigh | Northern terminus of SR 173 |
| Meriwether | Woodbury | 17.1 | 27.5 | SR 18 / SR 109 (Main Street) – Greenville, Molena | |
| Meriwether | Woodbury | 18.7 | 30.1 | SR 74 / SR 85 (Oakland Road) – Thomaston, Gay | Northern terminus |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus ||||||

### Spur route

State Route 85 Spur (SR 85 Spur) is a spur route of SR 85 that exists completely within the city limits of Manchester. It connects SR 41 (North 5th Avenue) with the SR 85 mainline. It is used to bypass downtown Manchester.
By the end of 1946, SR 85 Spur was built in Manchester from SR 41 to SR 85.
The entire route is in Manchester, Meriwether County.
| mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
| 0.0 | 0.0 | SR 41 (Fifth Avenue) – Woodland, Warm Springs | Western terminus |
| 0.8 | 1.3 | SR 85 (Truitt Street south / Foster Street east) – Pine Mountain, Waverly Hall, Woodbury | Eastern terminus; SR 85 takes on Truitt Street name. |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi ||||