California State Route 85

This article is about the current state route in San Jose. For the older designation of SR 85 on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road area, see list of deleted state highways in California.
State Route 85 marker
State Route 85
West Valley Freeway
Map
SR 85 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length24.2 mi[1] (38.9 km)
ExistedJuly 1, 1964[2]–present
HistorySR 9 in 1934, SR 85 in 1964
RestrictionsNo trucks over 4.5 tons from US 101 (South) to Stevens Creek Boulevard[3]
Major junctions
South end US 101 in San Jose
Major intersections
North end US 101 / Shoreline Boulevard in Mountain View
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountiesSanta Clara
Highway system
← SR 84→ SR 86

State Route 85 (SR 85) is a state highway which connects the cities of southern San Jose and Mountain View in the U.S. State of California. The highway intersects with major highways such as I-280, SR 17, and SR 87. The route serves as a bypass of U.S. Route 101 (US 101) in the Santa Clara Valley area, running through the foothill cities of Los Gatos, Saratoga, Cupertino, roughly paralleling the Santa Cruz Mountains up to its interchange with I-280.

The highway is officially known as the West Valley Freeway along its entire length. A significant portion of the route is also signed as the Norman Y. Mineta Highway, after former San Jose Mayor, U.S. Congressman, Secretary of Commerce, and Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta.[4] Its northernmost segment between I-280 and US 101, paralleling the Stevens Creek, also is known as the Stevens Creek Freeway.

SR 85 was built in two phases: the first, comprising the northern half, runs 5.7 miles from Stevens Creek Boulevard near Interstate 280 to its northern terminus at US 101 in Mountain View, was built in the 1960s. The second half, running 18.5 miles from US 101 in southern San Jose to Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino, remained unbuilt until the 1980s and was opened in segments between 1991 and 1994. Prior to the construction of the freeway, the route was signed along Mathilda Avenue and De Anza Boulevard from US 101 near SR 237 southwards until its junction with SR 9 in Saratoga, which then served as its southern terminus until it was decommissioned the same day the freeway opened.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference bridgelog was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ California Highways: State Route 85 [self-published source?]
  3. ^ "Special Route Restriction History - Route 85". Caltrans. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  4. ^ California Department of Transportation; California State Transportation Agency (January 2021). 2020 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California (PDF). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. pp. 52, 363. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 10, 2022.