U.S. Route 285 in Texas

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

U.S. Highway 285 (US 285) travels from Sanderson, Texas to Denver, Colorado. In Texas, US 285 begins at an intersection with US 90 in Sanderson, traveling through Fort Stockton and Pecos before exiting the state into New Mexico between Pecos and Carlsbad.

U.S. Highway 285
US 285 in Texas highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length	169.372 mi[1] (272.578 km)
Existed	1935[1]–present
Major junctions
South end	US 90 in Sanderson
Major intersections	I-10 / US 67 in Fort Stockton I-20 in Pecos
North end	US 285 at Texas–New Mexico state line
Location
Country	United States
State	Texas
Counties	Terrell, Pecos, Reeves, Culberson
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Highways in Texas Interstate US State Former Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec
← SH 284 → SH 285

Route description

US 285 begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 90 in Sanderson, just west of the downtown area. The highway travels through highly rural areas of Terrell and Pecos County before entering Fort Stockton. In Fort Stockton, US 285 shares a short overlap with U.S. Route 385 and meets Interstate 10 before leaving the town. US 285 has an interchange with Farm to Market Road 1776, which serves the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company test track. After FM 1776, US 285 takes on a highly rural route until entering Pecos, where the highway meets with Interstate 20. US 285 briefly runs through Culberson County before crossing the state line into New Mexico.

US 285 has acquired the nickname "Death Highway" because the traffic from oil tank trucks has increased the number of road fatalities by 67% since the beginning of the 2010s oil boom.^[2]

Junction list

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Terrell	Sanderson			US 90 – Alpine, Del Rio
Pecos	​			RM 2400 east – Sheffield
	Fort Stockton			US 385 north / I-10 BL east – McCamey	South end of US 385/BL I-10 overlap
				FM 1053 north
				US 385 south – Marathon	North end of US 385 overlap
				SH 18 north – Monahans	Access to Pecos County Memorial Hospital
				I-10 BL west – Van Horn	North end of BL I-10 overlap
				I-10 / US 67 – El Paso, Bakersfield	I-10 exit 257
	​			FM 1776 – Coyanosa	Interchange
Reeves	​			FM 2007 south
	​			FM 1450 east
	Pecos			I-20 – El Paso, Odessa	I-20 exit 42
				I-20 BL – Toyah, Barstow	Former US 80
	​			FM 1216 north
	​			SH 302 east – Mentone, Kermit
	Orla			RM 652
Culberson	​			US 285 north – Carlsbad	Texas–New Mexico state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus