(abbreviated '''I-395''') in Virginia is a 13 mile (21 km) long spur route that begins at a junction with
Interstate 95 in
Springfield, Virginia and ends in downtown
Washington, District Of Columbia . It passes underneath the
National Mall near the
United States Capitol and ends at a junction with
U.S. Highway 50 at
New York Avenue , roughly a mile (2 km) north of the Capitol tunnel.
and passing by the
Pentagon .]]
The portion of Interstate 395 between
The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia and the interchange with
Interstate 95 and the Capital Beltway at
Springfield was originally part of the
Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway , named for a Virginia Highway Commissioner, who died on July 16, 1941, just a few weeks after approving work on the new expressway. Originally
Virginia Highway 350 , the full-length of the Shirley Highway was opened on Sept. 6, 1949 from a point south of the Pentagon to
Woodbridge, Virginia along what is now the Interstate 95 corridor. Shirley Highway featured the nation's first
Reversible Bus lanes, a precursor to today's HOV lanes.
Original plans called for I-95 to cut straight through
Washington, D.C. and
Prince George's County, Maryland toward the northeastern portion of the
Capital Beltway , from which I-95 currently continues its northbound route. However, neighborhood opposition in the District halted this plan in
1977 , diverting planned funding to construction of the
Washington Metro . This portion of I-95 within the Beltway became I-395, while the eastern half of the Beltway was re-designated I-95 (and, later,
Co-signed I-95/I-495). I-395 now ends in Washington, D.C., at a traffic signal at
U.S. Highway 50 , which is
New York Avenue , near
Mount Vernon Square .
The following names are used for I-395 in the District: the from the
14th Street Bridge to the I-395/
695 interchange, the '''Center Leg''' or '''Center Leg Freeway''' from the I-395/695 interchange to New York Avenue, and the '''3rd Street Tunnel''' for the segment under the National Mall.
The jumble of highways in Virginia where I-395, I-95, and the
Capital Beltway meet is officially called the
Springfield Interchange .
Unofficially, this intersection has begun to be known as , a moniker that often causes confusion, as the intersection of I-395, Washington Boulevard, and Columbia Pike just several miles north was historically known (and continues to be recognized by VDOT) by the same name. Thus, within ten miles, two major interchanges have the identical informal name.
A noteworthy feature, at least from the standpoint of local commuters, is a reversible, barrier-separated
HOV facility, with its own entrances and exits, provided as a third roadway of Interstates 395 and 95 between Washington, D.C., and
Virginia State Highway 234 in
Prince William County, Virginia . During rush hour, the HOV facility operates in the direction of rush-hour traffic and is reserved for HOV-3 and certain other users. At other times, the HOV facility may be open to all traffic, but still in only one direction, or it may be closed to all traffic.
Currently in Virginia, motorcycles, alternative fuel cars, and hybrid vehicles are also permitted to use HOV lanes even with only one occupant. The law allowing hybrid vehicles to use the facility, however, is poised to sunset in July 2006, at which time non-HOV hybrids would no longer be authorized to use the lanes.
{Link without Title} Opinion varies on whether the law should be allowed to expire, dividing based on the supposed primary purpose of the lanes: are they mainly to reduce pollution (in which any hybrids should be encouraged) or are they mainly to increase volume throughput (in which case non-HOV hybrids don't help at all)?
This was initially constructed with a single lane as the first
Busway in the United States before being expanded and converted to HOV use.
I-395 and US 1 cross the
Potomac River from Virginia to Washington, D.C. on a three-span bridge. During an evening rush-hour snowstorm in 1982,
Air Florida Flight 90 crashed on take-off from
National Airport and hit one of the spans. The oldest span, formerly named the Rochambeau, is now named the
Arland D. Williams, Jr. Memorial Bridge, in honor of a passenger of Flight 90 who survived the crash, escaped from the sinking aircraft, and perished in the Potomac River while saving others from the icy waters.
