Capital Beltway

Interstate 495 marker
Interstate 495
Capital Beltway
Map
Capital Beltway highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-95
Maintained by VDOT and MDSHA
Length64 mi[1][2] (103 km)
Existed1961–present
Component
highways
Tourist
routes
Star-Spangled Banner Scenic Byway
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
Beltway around Washington, D.C.
Major intersections
Location
CountryUnited States
StatesDistrict of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia
CountiesDC: City of Washington
MD: Prince George's, Montgomery
VA: Fairfax, City of Alexandria
Highway system
MD 494MD MD 495
I-464VA US 501
I-395DC I-695

The Capital Beltway is a 64-mile (103 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area that surrounds Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. It is the basis of the phrase "inside the Beltway", used when referring to issues dealing with US federal government and politics. The highway is signed as Interstate 495 (I-495) for its entire length, and its southern and eastern half runs concurrently with I-95.

This circumferential roadway, which is located mostly in Maryland and Virginia, also has a 0.11-mile (0.18 km) section through the District of Columbia, near the western end of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River. The beltway passes through Prince George's and Montgomery counties in Maryland and Fairfax County and the independent city of Alexandria in Virginia.

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).

  1. ^ Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as of December 31, 2021". Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  2. ^ Korr, Jeremy L. (August 15, 2004). "Memory Lanes". The Washington Post. p. B2. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011.