Interstate 295 (District of Columbia)

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Interstate 295
Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System

Length:

8.05 mi^[1] (12.96 km)

South end:

I-95/I-495 near Forest Heights, MD

Major
junctions:

DC 295 in Anacostia, DC

North end:

I-695 in Washington, DC

Interstate 295 (I-295) in Washington D.C. and Maryland is a 8.05-mile spur route connecting I-95/I-495 and Maryland Route 210 (Indian Head Highway) on the Potomac River just outside the district boundaries in Maryland with Interstate 695 in downtown Washington.

1 Route description
2 Exit list
3 History
- 3.1 East Leg
4 Future work
- 4.1 Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project
- 4.2 11th Street Bridges Project
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Route description

Although I-295 technically begins at the Capital Beltway (I-95/I-495), a pair of mainline ramps connects the southern terminus of the route to the nearby MD 210. Continuing north from this interchange, I-295 quickly enters the District of Columbia; the route is only 0.8 miles long in Maryland. The highway is known throughout as the Anacostia Freeway.

Passing to the west and north of Oxon Hill Farm the route parallels the Potomac River, running through the southeast quadrant of D.C. It passes close to Shepard Parkway and forms the eastern boundary of Bolling Air Force Base and the Anacostia Naval Station. Near the southern end of Anacostia Park the route turns east and begins to parallel the Anacostia River, interchanging with S Capitol Street near the latter's crossing of said river.

Within the park, I-295 encounters the southern end of the 11th Street Bridges and exits from itself onto the bridges; the mainline freeway through the interchange assumes the identity of D.C. Route 295. The route continues to Baltimore, though it changes identities several times: I-295, DC 295, MD 201, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (an unnumbered federally owned expressway operated by the National Park Service), and MD 295.

Meanwhile, I-295 crosses the Anacostia River and enters an ambiguous state; it interchanges with I-695, an unfinished connector highway known as the Southeast Freeway. Within this interchange, it is unclear if I-295 comes to an end or if it turns west along the Southeast Freeway to terminate at I-395 within the District.

[edit] Exit list

Exits are numbered from south to north, in accordance with AASHTO guidelines. For exits along the Capital Beltway, see Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway).

County	#	Destinations	Notes
begins at
Prince George's		to Maryland Route 210 south - Indian Head	southbound exit and northbound entrance
	1A	Interstate 95 north; Interstate 495 north - Baltimore	southbound exit and northbound entrance
		Interstate 95 south; Interstate 495 south - Richmond, VA	southbound exit and northbound entrance
enters the District of Columbia
Washington D.C.	1	Laboratory Road - US Naval Research Lab
	2	South Capitol Street/Malcolm X Avenue - Bolling AFB
	3A	Suitland Parkway - US Naval Station	no southbound entrance
	3B	South Capitol Street/Howard Road - Downtown
	4	D.C. Route 295 north - Kenilworth, D.C. (to Interstate 95 north / U.S. 50 east - Baltimore, Annapolis)	northbound exit and southbound entrance; diverges from the Anacostia Freeway
	crosses the Anacostia River via the 11th Street Bridge
		Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue- Anacostia Park	southbound exit and northbound entrance
		M Street - Washington Navy Yard	northbound exit and southbound entrance
		RFK Stadium	northbound exit and southbound entrance
		8th Street Southeast	northbound exit and southbound entrance
		Interstate 695 - RFK Stadium, Downtown (via Interstate 395)	northbound exit and southbound entrance

[edit] History

The Anacostia Freeway was first conceived by the National Capital Park and Planning Commission in 1950 as a connector route between the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at Kenilworth Avenue and the Capital Beltway near Oxon Hill. The route would provide access to the Anacostia waterfront, which included Bolling Air Force Base and the Anacostia Naval Station. In 1955, District officials approved a portion of the route, between Suitland Parkway and E Capitol Street; the remainder of the route was approved in 1956. The southern portion of the route, from the Beltway to the 11th Street Bridges, was given a financial boost when it was included in the Interstate Highway System. The route was designated I-295 by AASHO in 1958.

The first 7.8 miles of the route opened on August 7, 1964, when the connecting segment of the Capital Beltway opened. In 1990, the freeway was extended 1.7 miles south to connect with MD 210, to cater for the significant traffic flow between the two routes and remove said traffic from the segment of the Beltway between both interchanges.

[edit] East Leg

Under the 1971 D.C. freeway plans, I-295 would have turned east at the northern end of the 11th Street Bridges and followed the Southeast Freeway as far as East Capitol Street, where it would turn north and follow the East Leg of the Inner Loop freeway. The East Leg, six lanes wide, would have curved around the far eastern edge of the downtown area, passing beneath Mt. Olivet Road in a 1/2 mile tunnel, before terminating at I-66 and I-95 north of Union Station, providing access to the North Leg Freeway, the North Central Freeway, and the New York Avenue Industrial Freeway.

[edit] Future work

This article contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the road's construction and/or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

Two major interchange projects are currently either under study or under construction on I-295.

[edit] Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project

As part of the larger Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge reconstruction project, the southern terminus of I-295 is being significantly rebuilt. Several new connections are being constructed to link the Beltway, MD 210 and I-295 with the new 300-acre National Harbor site, being built on the shore of the Potomac River in Prince George's County, Maryland. The interchange is also being rebuilt to accommodate future ramps for proposed HOV lanes on the Beltway. The project is due to be completed in stages from 2008 to 2011.

[edit] 11th Street Bridges Project

A major project is currently under study to significantly rebuild the interchange between I-295, DC 295 and the 11th Street Bridges. Due to the cancellation of both the remainder of the Southeast Freeway, as well as the newer Barney Circle Freeway, there are no through connections between the 11th Street Bridges and DC 295, leading to severe congestion and major traffic routing problems. A project currently exists to construct the missing movements at this interchange, allowing direct freeway-grade access to and from DC 295 at the 11th Street Bridges, and additionally providing a through grade-separated north-south route within D.C. The project is not scheduled to begin construction until 2011.

[edit] References

^ Route Log - Auxiliary Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 2

[edit] External links

	edit Auxiliary routes of Interstate 95
	Current and Future (F)	Former
	Florida - Maine - Maryland - Massachusetts/Rhode Island - New Jersey - Virginia
	Delaware/New Jersey - District of Columbia/Maryland - Florida - Massachusetts/Rhode Island - Maine - New York - North Carolina - Virginia
	Connecticut/Massachusetts - District of Columbia/Virginia - Florida - Maryland - Maine
	Delaware - District of Columbia/Maryland/Virginia - Maine - Massachusetts - New York	New Jersey - Pennsylvania
	Florida - Maryland	Virginia
	District of Columbia - Maryland - New York	Massachusetts - New Jersey - Pennsylvania
	Florida (F) - Maryland	Virginia
	Maryland - New York	Delaware - New Jersey/Pennsylvania - Rhode Island/Massachusetts - Virginia