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Interstate 495 (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 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 . Interstate 95 utilizes the southern and eastern half of the Capital Beltway to circumnavigate Washington, D.C., and is cosigned with Interstate 495 along that route. 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 . There is also a short Spur of the Beltway in Maryland. The Cabin John Parkway , a short connector between I-495 and the Clara Barton Parkway near the Maryland - Virginia border, is considered an Interstate spur by the Maryland State Highway Administration , and is designated I-495X. The Beltway passes through the Maryland Counties of Prince George's County and Montgomery County , the Virginia county of Fairfax County and the Independent City of Alexandria . MAJOR CITIES ]] Maryland
Virginia ROUTE DESCRIPTION I-95/I-495 concurrency in Maryland The two routes, eight lanes wide, travel together over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and touch down in Prince George's County west of Forest Heights . I-95/I-495 immediately encounter the southern terminus of Interstate 295 , known as the Anacostia Freeway, a route that serves downtown Washington D.C. and connects to the planned alignment of I-95 through D.C., Interstate 395 . Passing through the interchange, currently under major reconstruction as part of the bridge replacement project, the two routes interchange with MD 210 , a major north-south route into southern D.C. Beyond the MD 210 interchange (also under construction) the Beltway exits the eastern edge of the bridge replacement project. The two Interstates continue along the Capital Beltway, interchanging with various local highways such as MD 5 and MD 4 on either side of Andrews Air Force Base , which the Beltway travels very close to near its northern edge. Turning north past the MD 4 interchange, the Beltway runs through Glenarden , interchanging with MD 202 , US 50 , and MD 450 , the latter route offering access to the New Carrollton Metro Station and the New Carrollton metropolitan area. Turning northwest the Beltway enters Greenbelt Park , intersecting the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in the northeastern edge of the park. Just after the B-W Parkway, the two routes interchange with MD 201 , which connects to the southern terminus of the B-W Parkway at US 50 near the D.C. line. Now turned fully west, the Beltway runs through the northern edge of College Park , interchanging with the Greenbelt Metro Station 's access roadway and US 1 . Beyond the US 1 interchange, Interstate 95 encounters its own route at the College Park Interchange and separates from Interstate 495 within this interchange. I-495 continues west, alone, on the Capital Beltway, while I-95 turns north onto its own planned alignment. The interchange includes access to a Park And Ride . I-495 in Maryland Continuing west from the College Park Interchange , I-495 enters a heavily developed and populated area. Passing underneath MD 212 with no interchange, the route interchanges with MD 650 near the George Washington Cemetery . After bisecting the Northwest Branch Park , the Beltway interchanges with MD 193 and US 29 south of Four Corners ; the interchanges are little more than half a mile apart. Southbound US 29 is the main route into downtown Silver Spring . Squeezing past Argyle Park and Sligo Creek Golf Course , the Beltway interchanges with MD 97 northwest of Silver Spring and follows an alignment formerly known as Rock Creek Parkway. Twisting along the alignment, through and around Rock Creek Park , the route interchanges with MD 185 near the National Naval Medical Center . Turning northwest, I-495 soon encounters the southern terminus of Interstate 270 . I-270 and I-495 split at a highly complex Y-junction, with separate HOV connections to I-270's HOV lanes and separate ramps to and from MD 355 (formerly known as US 240 ). The old Rock Creek Parkway alignment follows I-270 north, while I-495 turns west and enters the only other six-lane segment of the Beltway still in existence; significant levels of traffic exit onto I-270 north, leaving the six-lane segment west of the split adequate. Interchanging with MD 187 , I-495 soon meets Interstate 270 Spur , the other side of the I-270/I-495 triangle. I-495 joins I-270 Spur at a converging wye junction; Inner Loop traffic exits from itself at the southern terminus of I-270 Spur, while Outer Loop traffic crosses the spur and enters it from the right. The two carriageways of I-495 temporarily widen to ten lanes and remain ten lanes as far as the MD 190 and Cabin John Parkway interchanges, where the route narrows to eight lanes again. Turning sharply to the west, I-495 meets the Clara Barton Parkway just to the north of the Potomac River , and soon crosses into Virginia over the American Legion Memorial Bridge . I-495 in Virginia Immediately after crossing into Virginia , I-495 encounters the western terminus of the George Washington Memorial Parkway at a Trumpet Interchange . Continuing south the Beltway interchanges with VA 193 south of Dranesville District Park , then reaches the massive triangle of interchanges between itself, the Dulles Airport Access Road , VA 267 , and VA 123 . The former interchange with the toll road is a directional interchange, while the latter is a cloverleaf; the entire complex occurs east of Tysons Corner , near the massive Tysons Corner Center shopping mall. Now running south, the Beltway interchanges with VA 7 , the Leesburg Pike, east of the shopping center; passing Dunn Loring to the east the route soon reaches the complex interchange with Interstate 66 . In a similar setup as the I-270/I-495 interchange, dedicated HOV connections exist between I-495 and I-66, with many reversible and other directional ramps providing the remaining connections. There is no access between the Outer Loop and I-66 east at this interchange. Instead, Outer Loop traffic must use the eastbound Dulles Access Road exit three miles previous to travel to I-66 East. If a driver gets onto westbound I-66 at the Leesburg Pike ( VA 7 ) entrance, the only choice for getting to northbound I-495 is to take I-66 West to the Nutley Street exit and then get back on I-66 East. A similar situation occurs for going from the Dulles Access Road at Chain Bridge Rd ( VA 123 ) to southbound I-495. It is assumed that the driver will know to continue along VA 7 or VA 123 directly to the Beltway. Also, there are multiple ramps from I-66 east to the Inner Loop, with one ramp exiting from the left side of I-66 east and the other exiting from the right. South of the I-66 interchange, the Beltway crosses under US 29 and VA 237 with no access, then encounters a large braided interchange between itself, US 50 , and two local roads; the direct interchange between I-495 and US 50 is a full cloverleaf, while the braided local interchanges between I-495, US 50 and the local roads are modified SPUI s. The entire complex is bounded on the northeast side by Fairview Lake and on the southwest side by an office complex occupied by Mobil . Continuing due south, the route interchanges with Gallows Road south of the Mobil offices, then skirts the eastern edge of Mill Creek Park before interchanging with VA 236 southwest of Annandale Community Park . Running along the eastern edge of Wakefield Park the Beltway turns southeast and interchanges with the nearly straight VA 620 before turning east near Flag Run Park and running into Springfield , meeting the Springfield Interchange southeast of the Shirley Industrial Complex . I-95/I-495 concurrency in Virginia I-95 joins the Beltway within the massive interchange, currently under reconstruction to cater for the many and varied traffic flows. I-495 also meets the southern terminus of Interstate 395 within the massive interchange complex. Running due east away from the interchange, crossing to the south of Backlick Stream Valley Park , the two routes interchange with VA 613 a mile east of the Springfield Interchange. Continuing east, the Beltway encounters a diamond interchange with a connector road linking to Eisenhower Avenue, which parallels the Beltway for a short distance. Skirting the northern edges of Loftridge Park and Burgundy Park the two routes enter Alexandria and soon reach VA 241 , a direct route into the city. Within the interchange, the Beltway enters the western edge of the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge replacement project. Continuing east within the project limits, the two routes encounter US 1 , whose interchange with the Beltway is also undergoing major reconstruction as part of the bridge replacement project. Finally, beyond the interchange, I-95 and I-495 cross Jones Point Park and exit Virginia via the Woodrow Wilson Bridge . HISTORY The federal government gave final approval for the construction of the Capital Beltway (also known as the Circumferential Highway 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 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 " Inner Loop "; traveling counter-clockwise, it is designated as the " Outer Loop ". This parlance too has led to its own confusion, with unfamiliar motorists imagining two separate, distinct highway alignments, one some distance inside the other. At entrance ramps to the Beltway and on the on-highway signage, "Inner Loop" and "Outer Loop" shields are posted in conjunction with the route marker shields, although the terms are not emphasized in signage. The Beltway was originally envisioned as primarily a bypass for long-distance eastern seabord traffic to avoid driving directly through Washington. However, the explosive growth both of housing and business in the Washington suburbs following the Beltway's completion, quickly made the Beltway the area's "main street" for local traffic as well. Numerous large shopping malls, community colleges, sports and concert stadiums, and corporate employment centers were purposely built adjacent to the Beltway, and these added greatly to the traffic, as has the passenger growth of regional airports accessed by the Beltway. The much cheaper price of housing in Southern Maryland versus high-tech Virginia, has also led tens of thousands of commuters to live in Southern Maryland and commute on the Beltway to Virginia. The newer Fairfax County Parkway in the 1990's helped ease some traffic on the Virginia beltway; however, various proposals to build another complete Outer Beltway in the outer suburbs cannot get off the ground, since local governments object to building additional Potomac River crossings as well as destroying protected "open space" and creating Sprawl . Traffic congestion 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. The Woodrow Wilson Bridge , where eight lanes on either side are squeezed into just six lanes, is particularly onerous with miles-long backups daily during commuter rush hours. The wider 12-lane replacement bridge, under construction, is expected to open in 2008, bringing relief. 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 State Route 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. These new lanes are one stage of a controversial project to widen the beltway, with the second stage involving widening the beltway to 12 lanes; opponents have called for various alternatives to this project (as well as the controversial Intercounty Connector project) which would divert many vehicles off the northern beltway, like the Purple Line mass transit route. {Link without Title} Current roadworks Main articles: Springfield Interchange , Woodrow Wilson Bridge The Springfield Interchange in Virginia is just completeing reconstruction. The eight-year, nearly $676 million project worked to eliminate weaving among local and long-distance traffic between I-95, I-395, the Beltway, and State Route 644. The Woodrow Wilson Bridge is also being reconstructed, with express and local lanes for both the Inner and Outer Loops. When completed, the new Wilson Bridge will be higher and wider than the original 1961 span that was demolished in 2006. Currently, only the Outer Loop span is open, with Inner Loop traffic utilizing the future Outer Loop express lanes. Also, in relation to the Wilson Bridge project, many interchanges on the Virginia side in Alexandria and Exit 2 in Maryland ( I-295 / MD 210 ) are being reconstructed. The Branch Avenue ( Maryland Route 5 ) Interchange is also undergoing improvements. Exit numbering Exit numbers on the Beltway have gone through several iterations. Originally, all exits on the Beltway were numbered sequentially in a clockwise direction, starting with exit 1 for US 1 in Alexandria. After the eastern half of the Beltway was renumbered in 1977 as Interstate 95 , exits on the Maryland portion were renumbered to the current format, counterclockwise with exit numbers assigned to mileposts. This caused problems because there were some exits that had the same number in Maryland and Virginia. Around 2000 , this problem was solved by renumbering all of the Virginia exits. The exit numbers between the American Legion Bridge and the Springfield Interchange – Interstate 495's intersection with Interstate 395 and Interstate 95 In Virginia – became a continuation of the Maryland exit numbers from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to the American Legion Bridge . The exit numbers between the Springfield Interchange and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge became a continuation of the exit numbers of Interstate 95 in Virginia. EXIT LIST Exits are numbered in a Counterclockwise (outer loop) direction, which is the opposite of AASHTO guidelines. However, the normal standard is overridden due to the presence of Interstate 95 , which proceeds northward on the outer loop. Being a main interstate, its number sequencing (south-to-north numbering, which ''is'' in accordance with AASHTO guidelines) takes precedence, and the remaining exits are adjusted to conform. SEE ALSO
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