Starting from the Virginia border, drivers will pass South Hill and McKenney before heading into a large forest of trees. After the forest, Interstate 85 reaches Petersburg and ends at Interstate 95. The highway is briefly cosigned with U.S. Route 460 from a few miles west of Petersburg in Dinwiddie County to I-95.
The last four miles of I-85 near Petersburg once formed the southern end of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike, which was completed in 1958. The tolls were removed in 1992 after Interstate 295 was completed.
Virginia's portion of I-85 also the only Interstate highway in the state with a posted speed limit greater than 65 miles per hour (105 kilometers per hour). It was raised from 65 mph to 70 mph (113 km/her) on July 1, 2006 by the state legislature.