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100 years of US routes: 1926-2026
Endpoints of
US 485 was one of the original 1926 routes, essentially serving as an alternate route for US 85 between Raton and Santa Fe. It split off from US 85 near Raton and essentially followed what is now US 64 to Taos; NM hwy. 68 from Taos to Espanola; and modern US 84-285 to its south end in Santa Fe:
c. 1927, Rand McNally
Raton
Most likely the north end of US 485 was near Raton (as opposed to being dual-signed with US 85 into Raton itself). Today, I-25 follows a direct route southward from Raton to Maxwell. But US 85 did not always follow that alignment -- originally it was routed along what is now US 64 south and west of Raton, and then modern NM hwy. 445 due south to Maxwell. In fact, a historical marker in the area has a map that still shows US 85 on its historic routing:
Sanderson, Mar. 2005
New Mexico no longer signs US 85 anywhere in the entire state, and for years now, the junction shown above as US 64 / US 85 has actually been the junction of US 64 / NM 445. It is referred to as "Hoxie Jct" on some maps -- there is nothing there, but it is an interesting place because of the former highway alignments, some of which are still visible. This photo was heading out of Raton, looking west on US 64:
Sanderson, Mar. 2005
Historically that was southbound US 85, and for a time it curved to the left via NM 445. Looking that direction, the curve that US 85 formerly followed is visible:
Sanderson, Mar. 2005
Southbound US 85 continued that direction, whereas US 485 was off to the right via today's westbound US 64. However, during the timeframe when US 485 began here, US 85 followed a slightly different alignment which is about a tenth-mile west of NM 445. This alignment is difficult to see from the current highways in the area, but it is plainly visible when looking at aerial photos. This view was at the north end of NM 445:
Sanderson, Mar. 2005
That was formerly northbound US 85, which continued on the curve to the right until it joined what is now eastbound US 64. But clearly US 64 is the mainline today, whereas NM 445 curves back to the left to meet it at a perpendicular angle. And as I said, US 85 did not run along this segment of NM 445 during the time when US 485 terminated here. Rather, the historic junction was located on today's US 64, roughly behind the "JCT 64" sign in the photo above. In this next photo, we are looking east on US 64:
Sanderson, Mar. 2005
That was once northbound US 485. Southbound US 85 came towards the camera, and then continued off to the right. But when US 485 existed, US 85 did not use what is now NM 445. Rather the junction was about a tenth-mile further ahead.
US 485 most likely ended there, although I have not seen a map detailed enough to answer whether US 485 was actually dual-signed with US 85 14 miles ahead into Raton. If it did continue ahead, then it would have shared a common terminus with historic US 385[i]; more info on the Raton page. US 485 was decommissioned when US 64 was signed along its route in 1931.
Research and/or image credits: Mike Roberson; Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa
Page originally created 2002;last updated Mar. 12, 2026.
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