A significant portion of the route is also signed as the Norman Y. Mineta Highway, after former San Jose Mayor, U.S.

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.

It turns northwest and briefly reenters San Jose before entering Cupertino and passing right next to De Anza College.

VTA light rail runs in the median of SR 85 between the 85-87 interchange and its southern terminus as well as below it in Mountain View.

Construction of the express lanes started in fall 2020, with the first phase between the Central Expressway and SR 85's northern terminus at US 101 opening on February 11, 2022.

[11] The city of Cupertino filed suit against Caltrans in May 2015 for failure to do a full Environmental Impact Report,[12] and the project attracted overwhelmingly negative reception from the Sierra Club as well as the cities of Saratoga, Los Gatos, and Mountain View for a lack in efficient public transit and higher dependence on automobiles (similar to Los Angeles in the 1960s-1970s) and also criticized VTA at attempting to breach the original 1989 contract which reserved the median divider for mass transportation (presumably light rail).

[citation needed] As of January 2025[update], the HOT lanes' hours of operation is weekdays between 5:00 am and 8:00 pm; they are otherwise free and open to all vehicles at other times.

Two-person carpools and clean air vehicles with a solo driver are charged 50 percent of the posted toll.

At the time, Santa Clara County still largely a rural area, consisting of orchards,[15] and so the right-of-way touched very few existing structures.

In the interim, parts of the unused open space were leased for use without permanent structures, including a large tree nursery, a driving range, and among other things, overflow parking for De Anza College.

Because state funds were scarce and congestion on other freeways and on surrounding surface streets was tremendous, a slight majority of voters (56%) voted for the tax in 1984.

At the time, there was considerable controversy over whether funds would be better spent on mass transit and whether a freeway through so many residential areas would destroy the quality of life.

It was also so effective as a solution to traffic problems that, several years after it was built, a poll by the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group revealed that nearly 80% of voters claimed that they had voted for the tax.

The remaining segments, from US 101 (in South San Jose) to Great Oaks and from Almaden Expressway to I-280, opened in August 1994 and October 1994 respectively.

But due to insufficient funds, the second tunnel was sealed at both ends by the dirt embankment, with a loop ramp provided instead.

The segment from Santa Teresa Boulevard to US 101 in South San Jose was further repaved in 2011 (Northbound) and 2018 (Southbound).

Like most California urban freeways at the time it was built, SR 85 originally used a mix of nonreflective and reflective raised pavement markers (i.e., Botts dots and Stimsonite reflectors) to mark lanes.

After California phased out Botts' dots (leaving Stimsonite reflectors as the only kind of raised pavement marker) and transitioned to wider lane stripes, the freeway was repainted to the new standard in late 2019 (similar to I-15 in Cajon Pass).

The evening before opening day several cities along the route, including Saratoga and Campbell, held street fair events on the freeway featuring fine food, wine, and games.

The overall commute for people from south San Jose through Campbell into Mountain View and other business areas of Silicon Valley improved by roughly half an hour over previous longer routes on already crowded freeways or over miles of surface streets.

As with any freeway, ambient noise in surrounding neighborhoods increased, from a steadily annoying whisper of sound day and night to a dull roar that muted backyard conversations.

This smoothed out much of the top layer of the freeway removing most of the rain grooves that had been cut in the concrete when the highway was first built.

Besides the funding breakthrough, SR 85 set new standards in two additional areas: metering lights and median safety barriers.

In 1998, California Highway Patrol officer Scott Greenly was struck by a car and killed while issuing a ticket on the shoulder of Route 85; thereafter the portion between Quito Road and Prospect Road in the City of Saratoga was named the CHP Officer Scott M. Greenly Memorial Freeway.

In the 2021 Netflix film The Mitchells vs. the Machines, the route is revealed to be heavily patrolled by PAL Max robots.