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Interstate 395 (Virginia–District of Columbia)
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Interstate 395 (Virginia–District of Columbia)
Interstate 395 (I-395) in Virginia and Washington, D.C., is a 13.79-mile-long (22.19 km) spur route of I-95 that begins at an interchange with I-95 in Springfield and ends at an interchange with US Route 50 (US 50) in Northwest Washington, D.C. It passes underneath the National Mall near the US Capitol and ends at a junction with US 50 at New York Avenue, roughly one mile (1.6 km) north of the 3rd Street Tunnel. Despite its proximity to I-395 in Maryland, the route is unrelated and unconnected.
I-395 is known by three different names over its various segments. The Virginia portion is part of the larger Shirley Highway that continues southward on I-95 beyond the terminus of I-395. In the District of Columbia, it is known as the Southwest Freeway from the 14th Street bridges to the Southeast Freeway interchange (I-695) and the Center Leg or Center Leg Freeway from the Southeast Freeway interchange to New York Avenue.
The intersection where I-395, I-95, and the Capital Beltway (I-495) meet is called the Springfield Interchange. Unofficially, this interchange is referred to as the "Mixing Bowl". This moniker causes confusion, because the intersection of I-395, Washington Boulevard, and Columbia Pike (SR 244) several miles north was historically known by that name and continues to be recognized by the Virginia Department of Transportation as such.
I-395 contains a third roadway: reversible, barrier-separated Virginia high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes with their own entrances and exits, also known locally as the "express lanes", between South Eads Street near The Pentagon in Arlington and Route 17 in Fredericksburg. During morning and evening rush hour, traffic on this roadway flows in the direction of rush-hour traffic.
This third roadway was built as a single-lane busway, the first in the U.S., before being expanded and converted to high-occupancy vehicle HOV use. A 2007 survey found that during the morning rush hour, the HOV lanes carry about 65 percent of travelers on I-395 (61,000 commuters), including 32,000 in transit busses and 29,000 in private vehicles with two or more people. The other 33,000 commuters (35 percent of total users) drove alone.
I-395 and Route 1 cross the Potomac River from Virginia to Washington, D.C. on three parallel four-lane bridges, together known as the 14th Street bridges. The Potomac River crossings for the Washington Metro's Yellow Line and for a major CSX Transportation railroad line are immediately downstream here. This site has long been a major Potomac River crossing, with the first bridge constructed here in 1809. Of the present highway spans, the eastern one was built in 1950, the western one in 1962, and the central one in 1972.
After crossing the 14th Street Bridges, the freeway has a left-side exit allowing access to Route 1 (exit 1). The southbound side of I-395 has no access to northbound US 1 here. I-395 crosses East Potomac Park (exit 2) and a second bridge, the Francis Case Memorial Bridge over the Washington Channel. Here, the route bends from a generally northeast direction to a due east direction, interchanging (exit 3) with the 12th Street Expressway, two tunnels that carry traffic under the National Mall. A series of complex interchanges (numbered 4, 5, 6, and 7) provide partial access to Maine Avenue and C Street SW, as well as connections to I-695. Immediately after I-695, the freeway makes a hard turn to the due north to follow the 3rd Street Tunnel immediately under Union Square, just to the west of the US Capitol building and underneath its reflecting pool and the Frances Perkins Building. I-395 follows a depressed roadway (the Center Leg Freeway), which was placed underground in 2019, that has three more partial interchanges (exits 8, 9, and 10) with local streets before terminating at the intersection of New York Avenue (Route 50).
The portion of I-395 between The Pentagon in Arlington, and the interchange with I-95 and the Capital Beltway in Springfield is part of the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway, named for the Virginia Highway Commissioner who died on July 16, 1941, just a few weeks after approving work on the new expressway. Originally SR 350, the full length of the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway was opened on September 6, 1949, from south of the Pentagon to Woodbridge, Virginia, along what is now better known as the I-95 corridor. The Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway featured the nation's first reversible bus lanes, a precursor to today's HOV lanes.
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Interstate 395 (Virginia–District of Columbia)
Interstate 395 (I-395) in Virginia and Washington, D.C., is a 13.79-mile-long (22.19 km) spur route of I-95 that begins at an interchange with I-95 in Springfield and ends at an interchange with US Route 50 (US 50) in Northwest Washington, D.C. It passes underneath the National Mall near the US Capitol and ends at a junction with US 50 at New York Avenue, roughly one mile (1.6 km) north of the 3rd Street Tunnel. Despite its proximity to I-395 in Maryland, the route is unrelated and unconnected.
I-395 is known by three different names over its various segments. The Virginia portion is part of the larger Shirley Highway that continues southward on I-95 beyond the terminus of I-395. In the District of Columbia, it is known as the Southwest Freeway from the 14th Street bridges to the Southeast Freeway interchange (I-695) and the Center Leg or Center Leg Freeway from the Southeast Freeway interchange to New York Avenue.
The intersection where I-395, I-95, and the Capital Beltway (I-495) meet is called the Springfield Interchange. Unofficially, this interchange is referred to as the "Mixing Bowl". This moniker causes confusion, because the intersection of I-395, Washington Boulevard, and Columbia Pike (SR 244) several miles north was historically known by that name and continues to be recognized by the Virginia Department of Transportation as such.
I-395 contains a third roadway: reversible, barrier-separated Virginia high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes with their own entrances and exits, also known locally as the "express lanes", between South Eads Street near The Pentagon in Arlington and Route 17 in Fredericksburg. During morning and evening rush hour, traffic on this roadway flows in the direction of rush-hour traffic.
This third roadway was built as a single-lane busway, the first in the U.S., before being expanded and converted to high-occupancy vehicle HOV use. A 2007 survey found that during the morning rush hour, the HOV lanes carry about 65 percent of travelers on I-395 (61,000 commuters), including 32,000 in transit busses and 29,000 in private vehicles with two or more people. The other 33,000 commuters (35 percent of total users) drove alone.
I-395 and Route 1 cross the Potomac River from Virginia to Washington, D.C. on three parallel four-lane bridges, together known as the 14th Street bridges. The Potomac River crossings for the Washington Metro's Yellow Line and for a major CSX Transportation railroad line are immediately downstream here. This site has long been a major Potomac River crossing, with the first bridge constructed here in 1809. Of the present highway spans, the eastern one was built in 1950, the western one in 1962, and the central one in 1972.
After crossing the 14th Street Bridges, the freeway has a left-side exit allowing access to Route 1 (exit 1). The southbound side of I-395 has no access to northbound US 1 here. I-395 crosses East Potomac Park (exit 2) and a second bridge, the Francis Case Memorial Bridge over the Washington Channel. Here, the route bends from a generally northeast direction to a due east direction, interchanging (exit 3) with the 12th Street Expressway, two tunnels that carry traffic under the National Mall. A series of complex interchanges (numbered 4, 5, 6, and 7) provide partial access to Maine Avenue and C Street SW, as well as connections to I-695. Immediately after I-695, the freeway makes a hard turn to the due north to follow the 3rd Street Tunnel immediately under Union Square, just to the west of the US Capitol building and underneath its reflecting pool and the Frances Perkins Building. I-395 follows a depressed roadway (the Center Leg Freeway), which was placed underground in 2019, that has three more partial interchanges (exits 8, 9, and 10) with local streets before terminating at the intersection of New York Avenue (Route 50).
The portion of I-395 between The Pentagon in Arlington, and the interchange with I-95 and the Capital Beltway in Springfield is part of the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway, named for the Virginia Highway Commissioner who died on July 16, 1941, just a few weeks after approving work on the new expressway. Originally SR 350, the full length of the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway was opened on September 6, 1949, from south of the Pentagon to Woodbridge, Virginia, along what is now better known as the I-95 corridor. The Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway featured the nation's first reversible bus lanes, a precursor to today's HOV lanes.
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