Maryland Roads - I-495/95

I-495 and 95/495, Capital Beltway

I-495 alone

All photos are NB and clockwise.


Barely across the Potomac River, one of the first signs in Maryland is one of the last button-copy signs on the Beltway.


Now the 3-Y beginning of I-270, and three different ways of signing it. This western leg is actually I-270 SPUR, though it's just signed as part of I-270. The real I-270 merges into I-495 after it turns EB-WB, which makes sense because 270 is an E-W road. Originally, I-270 was I-70S, I-70 east of their split was I-70N, and what's now I-270 SPUR was the actual extent of (unsigned) I-270. The purpose behind the split was to give Washington and Baltimore equal stature along a 2di, but the cities settled their differences and resolved the suffixes, unlike Dallas/Ft. Worth and Minneapolis/St. Paul along I-35E/W.


This is just temporary signage, but is the only CT-style sign I saw in the area. Would that it were button-copy.
I-95/495


I-295 southbound ending into I-95/495 SB at the Wilson Bridge and its associated construction, taken Christmas Eve of 2006.




An I-295 ramp-to-be, crossing just shy of the beginning of the bridge. As of late 2006, traffic was diverted onto the new bridge to rehabilitate the old bridge.


Views of the new bridge and construction on the old bridge, including the new control tower, again from Christmas Eve of 2006. When construction is complete, the bridges will be set up in a local/express (aka exiting/through) configuration; thus what now serve as median barriers will be permanent, even though the traffic they separate will be unidirectional.

All remaining photos on this page are courtesy Lou Corsaro.


Wilson Bridge construction photos in 2005, heading NB on the old bridge. The new Woodrow Wilson Bridge is only a higher drawbridge, albeit with more lanes, because there's not enough room on either side of the Potomac for a fixed span. For commentary on the Exit 2 signage, see the next caption.


Wilson Bridge photos heading SB this time, again in 2005 on the old bridge.


Views of construction at the I-295 interchange (Exit 2), heading southbound.


Looking at the same bridge, but facing northbound.


I-95/I-495 SB at I-295 retains button copy, which managed to remain after an I-295 interchange reconstruction, but has another chance of disappearing once the new Wilson Bridge is completed. As you can tell by the tacked-on I-95 shields, the Beltway was only meant to be I-495; the late addition is why I-95 multiplexes with half of its own child, instead of sending it around the western half of the loop and taking over the eastern half. I-95 was supposed to continue along the Shirley Highway into Washington DC, but plans to take it out of the tunnel and bring it through the northern suburbs stalled, so the southern stub (well, a long stub) was designated I-395. There's all sorts of odd freewayage in the DC area, including a tiny piece of Whitehurst Freeway belonging to US 29, because I-66 was never completed in to I-395 and its I-266 child was also never completed. To get back to these signs, the covered signs in the first photo are for MD 210, whose destinations are visible below in the NB signage.


Somewhat old signage and a glimpse at double-tabbed signage, a peculiarity to Maryland.


With all the Beltway construction done, there is now a C-D road setup between Telegraph Rd. in Virginia and MD 210. That's why there's only a "Local" choice for SB traffic when approaching the area on MD 210 NB.


Wilson Bridge construction yielded new ramps at the I-295/MD 210 interchange. This one is from the "Thru" roadway.


These NB and SB signs on the Beltway make room for I-595, which was designated in the 1980's once US 50 (and partly US 301) was upgraded to decent standards, but never signed because 595/50/301 would confuse motorists. (And four-way multiplexes in other states don't? What a silly excuse.) The NB photo is courtesy Doug Kerr.


SB on the C-D road in the US 1/I-95/I-495 cloverleaf, courtesy Lou Corsaro.
Back to I-95 main page

Into Virginia on I-495
Into Virginia on I-95/495
Exit 2 to I-295
Exit 19 to US 50
Exit 20 to MD 450
Exit 25 to US 1
Exit 38 to I-270
See more of Prince George's County
I-495 and 495/95 (Capital Beltway)
and Woodrow Wilson Bridge on Steve Anderson's dcroads.net
Scott Kozel's Capital Beltway Highway Projects
Back to Maryland Roads
Back to Roads