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495
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Auxiliary
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1958
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(abbreviated '''I-495''') is a
Freeway -class
Interstate Highway which circles
Washington, D.C. and its inner suburbs in
Maryland and
Virginia . I-495 is widely known as the '''Capital Beltway''' or simply as the '''Beltway''', especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear. It is the basis of the phrase "
Inside The Beltway ", used when referring to issues dealing with
American Government and
Politics .
The federal government gave final approval for the construction of the Capital Beltway (also known as the in the planning stages) on
September 28 ,
1955 . The first section of the 64-mile long Beltway (including the
Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge over the
Potomac River ) was opened on
December 21 ,
1961 ; the highway was completed on
August 17 ,
1964 .
Originally designated I-495, in
1977 the eastern portion of the Beltway was re-designated
I-95 when a proposed alignment of I-95 from
New York Avenue in Washington, D.C., through
Prince George's County, Maryland to I-495 was cancelled. Motorists never fully adjusted to the two halves of the Beltway having different numbers, so in
1989 the I-495 designation was restored to the eastern portion, making it a dual I-95/I-495.
Traveling clockwise, the Beltway is designated as the ; traveling counter-clockwise, it is designated as the '''Outer Loop'''.
The Beltway crosses the Potomac River twice, on the
Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge and on the
American Legion Memorial Bridge .
Traffic volume on the Beltway can be as high as 225,000 vehicles per day. Despite numerous widening projects during its history, heavy traffic on the Beltway is a continuing problem.
Two intersections on the Capital Beltway are ranked in the top 20 on a study of the "worst bottlenecks in the nation." They are the I-495 at
I-270 interchange in
Montgomery County, Maryland , ranked third overall, which receives 243,425 cars daily, and the I-495 at I-95 interchange in
Prince George's County, Maryland , ranked 11th, with 185,125 cars. The
Springfield Interchange , where
I-395 , I-95, and I-495 meet, was previously ranked fifth worst in the nation, but recent improvements have taken it off the top 20. Local commuters refer to the Springfield Interchange as "The Mixing Bowl," although this designation is reserved by highway officials for the even more complicated interchange complex adjacent to the
The Pentagon on the original
Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway (currently better-known as
Interstate 395 ) at
Virginia State Highway 27 in
Arlington .
In April 2005, the
Virginia Department Of Transportation signed an agreement with two private companies to build
High-occupancy Toll lanes on the stretch of the Beltway between Springfield and Georgetown Pike. Maryland officials are considering such lanes on their segment of the Beltway, as well as other major commuter highways in the state. Locals who disapprove of these projects have nicknamed them "Lexus Lanes" because of the potential high price for using the lanes in exchange for by-passing congestion.
Many daily Beltway
Commuter s are unaware that the circumferential roadway is located not only in the states of
Virginia and
Maryland , but also crosses briefly through the
District Of Columbia over the
Potomac River on the
Woodrow Wilson Bridge .
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The Capital Beltway also interchanges with a "secret" unsigned section of the Interstate Highway System, the long lost
Interstate 595 in Maryland, completed in 1995. This roadway is still signed as
U.S. Highway 50 .
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Originally, the exits in Virginia were numbered sequentially in a clockwise direction, starting with exit 1 for US 1 in Alexandria. This caused problems because there were some exits that had the same number in Maryland and Virginia. This was changed around
2000 by renumbering all of the Virginia exits. The exit numbers between the
American Legion Bridge and Interstate 495's intersection with
Interstate 395 and
Interstate 95 in Virginia became a continution of the Maryland exit numbers from the
Woodrow Wilson Bridge to the
American Legion Bridge . The exit numbers between the intersection with Interstate 395 and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge became a continution of the exit numbers of Interstate 95 in Virginia.
