Interstate 485 (I-485) is a 66.68-mile-long (107.31 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway encircling Charlotte, North Carolina. As a complete loop, it is primarily signed with "inner" and "outer" designations, though at some major interchanges, supplemental signage reflects the local compass orientation of the road. The entire route lies within Mecklenburg County.

Interstate 85 (I-85) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Montgomery, Alabama, to Petersburg, Virginia. In North Carolina, I-85 travels 231.23 miles (372.13 km) from the South Carolina state line near Grover to the Virginia state line near Wise. Despite being signed north–south, I-85 physically travels in a southwest–northeast direction across the state. The major landscapes traversed by I-85 include urban and rural pockets of the Piedmont region, with views of Kings Pinnacle seen from its southernmost stretch. The Interstate Highway connects the three most populous metropolitan areas of North Carolina: the Charlotte metropolitan area, Piedmont Triad, and Research Triangle, as well as nine of the 20 largest municipalities in the state. Outside of North Carolina, I-85 connects the state with Richmond, Virginia, to the north and Upstate South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia, to the south. I-85 parallels several US Highways including US Highway 29 (US 29) between South Carolina and Greensboro, US 70 between Greensboro and Durham, US 15 between Durham and Oxford, and US 1 between Henderson and Virginia.