Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)

Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)

Interstate 495 (I-495) is a 64-mile (103 km) Interstate Highway that surrounds Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States of America, and the city's inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. I-495 is widely known as the Capital Beltway or simply the Beltway, especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear. It is the basis of the phrase "Inside the Beltway", used when referring to issues dealing with American government and politics. I-95 utilizes the southern and eastern half of the Capital Beltway to circumnavigate Washington, D.C., and is cosigned with I-495 along that route.

This circumferential roadway is located not only in the states of Virginia and Maryland, but also crosses briefly 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 County and Montgomery County 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.