Capital Beltway

Interstate 495
Capital Beltway
Capital Beltway highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-95
Maintained by VDOT and MDSHA
Length	64 mi[1][2] (103 km)
Existed	1961–present
Component highways	I-495 entire route I-95 From Springfield, VA to College Park, MD going counterclockwise
Tourist routes	Star-Spangled Banner Scenic Byway
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
Beltway around Washington, D.C.
Major intersections	I-295 in Oxon Hill, MD US 50 in Glenarden, MD and Dunn Loring, VA Baltimore–Washington Parkway in Greenbelt, MD I-95 in College Park, MD I-270 in Bethesda, MD George Washington Parkway in McLean, VA SR 267 in Tysons, VA I-66 in Dunn Loring, VA I-95 / I-395 in Springfield, VA US 1 in Alexandria, VA and College Park, MD
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
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future
← MD 494 MD → MD 495 ← I-464 VA → US 501 ← I-395 DC → 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).