Capital Beltway
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.
Interstate 495 | ||||||||||
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| Capital Beltway | ||||||||||
Capital Beltway highlighted in red | ||||||||||
| Route information | ||||||||||
| Auxiliary route of I-95 | ||||||||||
| Maintained by VDOT and MDSHA | ||||||||||
| Length | 64 mi (103 km) | |||||||||
| Existed | 1961–present | |||||||||
| Component highways |
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| Tourist routes | Star-Spangled Banner Scenic Byway | |||||||||
| NHS | Entire route | |||||||||
| Major junctions | ||||||||||
| Beltway around Washington, D.C. | ||||||||||
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| Location | ||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||
| States | District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia | |||||||||
| Counties | DC: City of Washington MD: Prince George's, Montgomery VA: Fairfax, City of Alexandria | |||||||||
| Highway system | ||||||||||
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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).