U.S. Route 285 in New Mexico

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 285 in New Mexico. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 285.

U.S. Route 285 (US 285) is a north–south U.S. highway that runs from Sanderson, TX to Denver, CO. US 285 enters the state of New Mexico from Texas, into Eddy County, NM just south of Loving. The highway runs through the major cities of Carlsbad, Roswell, and Santa Fe. The highway exits the state into Colorado approximately 25 miles north of Tres Piedras. The Pecos River runs adjacent to the vast stretch of highway, yet breaks away in Northern New Mexico, before entering Colorado.

U.S. Highway 285
US 285 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 85
Maintained by NMDOT
Length	407.0 mi (655.0 km)
Existed	1934–present
Major junctions
South end	US 285 at Texas state line
Major intersections	US 62 / US 180 in Carlsbad US 82 in Artesia US 70 / US 380 in Roswell US 54 / US 60 near Vaughn I-40 in Clines Corners I-25 / US 84 / US 85 in Santa Fe US 64 in Tres Piedras
North end	US 285 at Colorado state line
Location
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
Counties	Eddy, Chaves, De Baca, Lincoln, Guadalupe, Torrance, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, Taos
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided New Mexico State Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← NM 284 → NM 286

Route description

US 285 at the intersection of US 70 and US 380 in Roswell.

US 285 enters New Mexico from Texas approximately 23 miles south of Loving. As US 285 traverses north on the eastern plains of New Mexico, it passes through the towns of Carlsbad, Artesia and then Roswell. In Artesia, the route intersects with US 82. In Carlsbad, US 285 has an overlap with US 62 and US 180 through the town. In Roswell, the route intersects with US 70 and US 380, having a short overlap with US 70.

US 54, US 60 and US 285 in Vaughn.

The route next heads northwest to Vaughn where it has a brief concurrency with US 54 and US 60. The route then continues northwest and has a junction with Interstate 40 (I-40) at Clines Corners.

US 285 and US 84 approaching the intersection with NM 68

Heading north out of Clines Corners, the route continues towards the state capital. At the outskirts of Santa Fe, the route becomes concurrent with I-25, US 84, and its unsigned parent (US 85) for several miles heading west through the foothills of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains to Santa Fe. After exiting I-25, US 285 follows Saint Francis Drive through Santa Fe. The route continues north by northwest to Española and Chamita, where the concurrency with US 84 ends. The route then traverses the Carson National Forest where US 285 now makes a long climb up to the Colorado Plateau, passing through Ojo Caliente as it ascends to the San Luis Valley. After crossing US 64, the highway passes through the village of Tres Piedras, New Mexico at the south end of the valley, then proceeds north to the Colorado border near the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Eddy	​	0.00	0.00		US 285 south – Pecos	Continuation into Texas
	Loving	21.1	34.0		NM 387 north	Southern terminus of NM 387
	​	23.4	37.7		NM 31 north – Hobbs	Southern terminus of NM 31
	​	27.3	43.9		NM 216 north (Grandi Road)	Southern terminus of NM 216
	Carlsbad	31.3	50.4		US 62 / US 180 west – El Paso	South end of US 62/US 180 overlap
		32.0	51.5		NM 216 south (Wood Avenue)	Northern terminus of NM 216
		32.6	52.5		Plaza Street	Interchange; southbound exit only via San Jose Boulevard
		33.1	53.3		NM 524 west (Lea Street)	Eastern terminus of NM 524
		33.3	53.6		US 62 / US 180 east – Hobbs	North end of US 62/US 180 overlap
	​	41.6	66.9		NM 524 east – Carlsbad	Western terminus of NM 524
	​	45.7	73.5		NM 137 south – Queen	Northern terminus of NM 137
	​	55.1	88.7		NM 381 east – Brantley Lake	Western terminus of NM 381
	​	63.4	102.0		NM 229 north (Four Dinkus Road)	Southern terminus of NM 229
	Atoka	64.4	103.6		NM 335 east	Western terminus of NM 335
	Artesia	69.4	111.7		US 82 (Main Street) – Alamogordo, Lovington
		70.4	113.3		NM 357 east	Western terminus of NM 357
		71.4	114.9		NM 229 south (Mill Road)	Northern terminus of NM 229
	​	72.1	116.0		NM 2 north (Lake Arthur Highway) – Hagerman, Dexter	Southern terminus of NM 2
	​	77.2	124.2		NM 350
Eddy–Chaves county line	​	78.6	126.5		NM 438
Chaves	​	86.7	139.5		NM 13 west	Eastern terminus of NM 13
	​	102.1	164.3		NM 2 south (Yakima Road) – Dexter, Hagerman	Northern terminus of NM 2
	​	105.1	169.1		US 285 Truck north (Relief Route) to US 380 west / US 70 – Roswell International Air Center	Southern terminus of US 285 Truck (Relief Rte.)
	Roswell	109.7	176.5		US 70 west / US 380 – Mescalero, Capitan, Tatum	South end of US 70 overlap
		113.7	183.0		NM 246 west	Eastern terminus of NM 246
	​	115.0	185.1		US 70 east (Clovis Highway) / US 70 Truck west / US 285 Truck south (Relief Route) – Portales, Ruidoso	Interchange; north end of US 70 overlap; US 70 exit B, US 70 Truck exit A; eastern terminus of US 70 Truck, northern terminus of US 285 Truck (Relief Rte.)
	​	146.8	236.3		NM 20 north – Fort Sumner	Southern terminus of NM 20
De Baca	​	166.3	267.6		NM 247 west – Corona	Eastern terminus of NM 247
Lincoln	No major junctions
Guadalupe	​	204.7	329.4	US 54 / US 60 east – Santa Rosa, Fort Sumner	South end of US 54/US 60 overlap
	​	208.6	335.7	US 54 west – Alamogordo, Carrizozo	North end of US 54 overlap
Torrance	Encino	222.2	357.6	NM 3 – Duran, Villanueva
		222.7	358.4	US 60 west – Willard	North end of US 60 overlap
	Clines Corners	249.4	401.4	I-40 – Albuquerque, Santa Rosa	I-40 exit 218
San Miguel	No major junctions
Santa Fe	​	265.7	427.6	NM 34 north – Pecos	Southern terminus of NM 34
	​	284.0	457.1	NM 41 south – Moriarty	Northern terminus of NM 41
	Eldorado at Santa Fe	290.7	467.8	I-25 north (US 85 north / US 84 east) – Las Vegas	South end of I-25/US 84/US 85 overlap; I-25 exit 290
	Santa Fe	297.1	478.1	284	NM 466 (Old Pecos Trail)	Exit number follows I-25
		298.4	480.2		I-25 south (US 85 south) – Albuquerque	North end of I-25/US 85 overlap; I-25 exit 282
		300.0	482.8		NM 466 (St. Michaels Drive) – Santa Fe University of Art and Design	Interchange; serves CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center
		301.6	485.4		NM 14 south (Cerrillos Road)	Northern terminus of NM 14
		302.5	486.8		NM 475 east (Paseo de Peralta) – State Capitol	Western terminus of NM 475
		303.2	488.0		Downtown Plaza	Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
		303.8	488.9	166	NM 599 south (Santa Fe Relief Route)	Northern terminus of NM 599; south end of freeway; no exit number northbound
	Santa Fe–Tesuque line	306.2	492.8	168	CR 73 north / Opera Drive / Avenida Monte Sereno – Tesuque Village	Southern terminus of CR 73
	Tesuque–Tesuque Pueblo line	308.1	495.8	171	Flea Market Road
	Tesuque Pueblo	309.2	497.6	172	CR 73 south – Tesuque	Northern terminus of CR 73
	​	312.3	502.6	175	Camel Rock Road
	Cuyamungue	313.9	505.2	176	Cuyamungue
		315.3	507.4	177	To CR 89B / CR 89D / Buffalo Thunder Road	North end of freeway
	Pojoaque	317.8	511.4		NM 502 west – Los Alamos	Eastern terminus of NM 502; interchange
		318.5	512.6		NM 503 east – Cundiyo	Western terminus of NM 503
	​	320.4	515.6	183	Frontage Road	Interchange
	Sombrillo–Española line	324.5	522.2		NM 399 south / NM 106 north – Sombrillo	Northern terminus of NM 399, southern terminus of NM 106
Rio Arriba	Española	326.1	524.8		NM 68 north (Riverside Drive)	Southern terminus of NM 68
		326.9	526.1		NM 30 south – Los Alamos	Northern terminus of NM 30
		328.3	528.3		NM 584 east (Fairview Lane)	Western terminus of NM 584
	​	333.3	536.4		NM 74 east	Western terminus of NM 74
	​	334.9	539.0		US 84 west – Tierra Amarilla	North end of US 84 overlap
Taos	Ojo Caliente	351.3	565.4		NM 414 north	Southern terminus of NM 414
	​	353.0	568.1		NM 111 north – La Madera	Southern terminus of NM 111
	​	361.9	582.4		NM 567 east – Carson	Western terminus of NM 567
	Tres Piedras	382.3	615.3		US 64 – Tierra Amarilla, Taos
	​	407.0	655.0		US 285 north – Antonito, Alamosa	Continuation into Colorado
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

Roswell truck route

U.S. Highway 285 Truck
Location	Roswell, New Mexico

Gallery

• 
  Clines Corners, at the junction of US-285 and I-40, south of Santa Fe

References

Template:Attached KML/U.S. Route 285 in New Mexico

KML is not from Wikidata