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Capital Beltway
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Capital Beltway
The Capital Beltway, designated as Interstate 495 (I-495) for its entire length, is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area. The 64-mile (103 km) beltway encircles Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. It also passes through the capital, near the western end of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River; Prince George's and Montgomery counties in Maryland and Fairfax County; and the independent city of Alexandria in Virginia.
The route is the basis of the phrase "inside the Beltway", used when referring to issues dealing with U.S. federal government and politics. Its southern and eastern half runs concurrently with I-95. It was constructed in 1964. The Cabin John Parkway, a short connector between I-495 and the Clara Barton Parkway near the Potomac River along the Maryland–Virginia border, is considered an Interstate spur (I-495X) by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA).
Except for the westernmost part of Woodrow Wilson Bridge south of Downtown (the water below is considered part of the District of Columbia), the Capital Beltway encircles Washington, D.C., in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. The two directions of travel, clockwise and counterclockwise (looking at a map), have become known respectively as the "Inner Loop" and the "Outer Loop". The route descriptions below follow the direction of the Outer Loop, starting at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River, south of Washington.
Most beltway interchanges provide access to Washington, with I-95 and I-295 from the south, I-66 from the west, and U.S. Route 50 (US 50) from the west and the east are among the most frequently used. More scenic routes from the beltway into DC are offered by the George Washington Memorial Parkway along the Virginia side of the Potomac River, the Clara Barton Parkway along the Maryland side of the river, and the Baltimore–Washington Parkway (B–W Parkway), approaching Washington DC from the northeast.
Initially, the entire beltway was simply I-495, and I-95 was planned to serve Downtown from the south and north, intersecting the beltway in Virginia and Maryland. The Virginia segment from Springfield to the D.C. border was completed—however, environmental litigation stopped the completion of the Maryland segment, and the built portion of I-95 inside the beltway from the south northward into Downtown was redesignated I-395 in 1977. The small built portion from the north was converted into a park-and-ride lot. I-95 was then rerouted (and so signed) along the eastern side of the beltway, with the I-495 designation left only along the western side, leaving both routes as bypasses of Washington, D.C. In 1989, the I-495 designation was also returned to the eastern portion, with the highway cosigned as I-95 and I-495 along this route.
The beltway—here I-95 and I-495 together and four lanes in each direction—travels over the tidal Potomac River on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge between Alexandria, Virginia, and the neighborhood of National Harbor of Oxon Hill, Maryland. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recognizes 0.11 miles (0.18 km) of the bridge as crossing the tip of the southernmost corner of the District of Columbia, but, while there are signs acknowledging the Maryland and Virginia state borders, there are none for DC.
The beltway (where I-95 and I-495 together) enters Maryland during its Potomac River crossing over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, west of Forest Heights and National Harbor as a 10-lane highway with a local–express lane configuration including three local lanes and two express lanes in each direction. After crossing the Potomac River, I-95/I-495 narrows to eight lanes with two local and two express lanes in each direction and immediately meets the southern terminus of I-295, known as the Anacostia Freeway, a route that serves Downtown to the north, connecting in Washington, D.C., to I-695. This large interchange also connects to National Harbor Boulevard, which links the National Harbor with the beltway and I-295. The highway passes south of Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm and next intersects Maryland Route 210 (MD 210; Indian Head Highway), a major north–south route from southern DC to Indian Head in Charles County, which also serves the town of Forest Heights to the north at another interconnected interchange.
Heading eastward, the beltway's (I-95/I-495) local–express lane configuration ends before it interchanges with various local highways, including MD 5 and MD 4 on either side of Andrews Air Force Base, which the beltway travels near its northern edge. (Both MD 5 and MD 4 extend westward into DC and southeastward into Southern Maryland.) Past the MD 4 interchange, the beltway turns north through Glenarden, interchanging with MD 202.
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Capital Beltway
The Capital Beltway, designated as Interstate 495 (I-495) for its entire length, is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area. The 64-mile (103 km) beltway encircles Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. It also passes through the capital, near the western end of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River; Prince George's and Montgomery counties in Maryland and Fairfax County; and the independent city of Alexandria in Virginia.
The route is the basis of the phrase "inside the Beltway", used when referring to issues dealing with U.S. federal government and politics. Its southern and eastern half runs concurrently with I-95. It was constructed in 1964. The Cabin John Parkway, a short connector between I-495 and the Clara Barton Parkway near the Potomac River along the Maryland–Virginia border, is considered an Interstate spur (I-495X) by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA).
Except for the westernmost part of Woodrow Wilson Bridge south of Downtown (the water below is considered part of the District of Columbia), the Capital Beltway encircles Washington, D.C., in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. The two directions of travel, clockwise and counterclockwise (looking at a map), have become known respectively as the "Inner Loop" and the "Outer Loop". The route descriptions below follow the direction of the Outer Loop, starting at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River, south of Washington.
Most beltway interchanges provide access to Washington, with I-95 and I-295 from the south, I-66 from the west, and U.S. Route 50 (US 50) from the west and the east are among the most frequently used. More scenic routes from the beltway into DC are offered by the George Washington Memorial Parkway along the Virginia side of the Potomac River, the Clara Barton Parkway along the Maryland side of the river, and the Baltimore–Washington Parkway (B–W Parkway), approaching Washington DC from the northeast.
Initially, the entire beltway was simply I-495, and I-95 was planned to serve Downtown from the south and north, intersecting the beltway in Virginia and Maryland. The Virginia segment from Springfield to the D.C. border was completed—however, environmental litigation stopped the completion of the Maryland segment, and the built portion of I-95 inside the beltway from the south northward into Downtown was redesignated I-395 in 1977. The small built portion from the north was converted into a park-and-ride lot. I-95 was then rerouted (and so signed) along the eastern side of the beltway, with the I-495 designation left only along the western side, leaving both routes as bypasses of Washington, D.C. In 1989, the I-495 designation was also returned to the eastern portion, with the highway cosigned as I-95 and I-495 along this route.
The beltway—here I-95 and I-495 together and four lanes in each direction—travels over the tidal Potomac River on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge between Alexandria, Virginia, and the neighborhood of National Harbor of Oxon Hill, Maryland. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recognizes 0.11 miles (0.18 km) of the bridge as crossing the tip of the southernmost corner of the District of Columbia, but, while there are signs acknowledging the Maryland and Virginia state borders, there are none for DC.
The beltway (where I-95 and I-495 together) enters Maryland during its Potomac River crossing over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, west of Forest Heights and National Harbor as a 10-lane highway with a local–express lane configuration including three local lanes and two express lanes in each direction. After crossing the Potomac River, I-95/I-495 narrows to eight lanes with two local and two express lanes in each direction and immediately meets the southern terminus of I-295, known as the Anacostia Freeway, a route that serves Downtown to the north, connecting in Washington, D.C., to I-695. This large interchange also connects to National Harbor Boulevard, which links the National Harbor with the beltway and I-295. The highway passes south of Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm and next intersects Maryland Route 210 (MD 210; Indian Head Highway), a major north–south route from southern DC to Indian Head in Charles County, which also serves the town of Forest Heights to the north at another interconnected interchange.
Heading eastward, the beltway's (I-95/I-495) local–express lane configuration ends before it interchanges with various local highways, including MD 5 and MD 4 on either side of Andrews Air Force Base, which the beltway travels near its northern edge. (Both MD 5 and MD 4 extend westward into DC and southeastward into Southern Maryland.) Past the MD 4 interchange, the beltway turns north through Glenarden, interchanging with MD 202.
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