Interstate 295 (Maryland–District of Columbia)
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Location | ||||
Country | District of Columbia | |||
Counties | MD: Prince George's DC: City of Washington | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Interstate 295 (I-295) also known as the Anacostia Freeway, is a six-mile (9.7 km)
Route description
mi[1] | km
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MD | 0.8 | 1.3 |
DC | 5.2 | 8.4 |
Total | 6.0 | 9.7 |
Maryland
Although I-295 technically begins at the Capital Beltway (
District of Columbia
Passing to the west and north of Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm, the route parallels the Potomac River, running through the Southeast quadrant of DC. It passes close to Shepard Parkway and forms the eastern boundary of Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling. Near the southern end of Anacostia Park, the route turns east and begins to parallel the Anacostia River, interchanging with South Capitol Street near the latter's crossing of the river.
Within the park, I-295 encounters the junction with
History
The Anacostia Freeway was first conceived by the Maryland-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 (Bolling AFB) and Naval Support Facility Anacostia (NSF Anacostia). In 1955, DC officials approved the portion of the route between Suitland Parkway and East Capitol Street; the remainder of the route was approved in 1956.
In 1958, the southern portion of the route, from the beltway to the 11th Street Bridges, became a part of the
I-295 opened in pieces. The first section was from the Beltway to S. Capitol Street, and the final section of the route, the three miles (4.8 km) from S. Capitol Street to the Pennsylvania Avenue interchange, opened on August 7, 1964. The final part of the project, the connecting ramps to the 11th Street Bridges, opened the following year.[2] In 1990, a 1.7-mile (2.7 km) section of connecting ramps was built to directly connect I-295 to MD 210 in order to remove the significant traffic flow between the two routes from the segment of the beltway between both interchanges. These ramps are not considered part of the mainline of I-295.
East leg
Under the 1971 DC freeway plans, I-295 would have turned east at the northern end of the
Reconstruction of the southern terminus
As part of the larger Woodrow Wilson Bridge reconstruction project, the southern terminus of I-295 has been significantly rebuilt. Several new connections have been constructed to link the beltway, MD 210, and I-295 with the new 300-acre (120 ha) National Harbor site on the shore of the Potomac River in Prince George's County, Maryland. One feature of the interchange reconstruction is that accommodations were made for future ramps to proposed high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV) on the beltway. This project was completed in stages, starting in 2008 and ending in 2011.
Reconstruction of the northern terminus
The cancelation of both the remainder of the
Future
The District of Columbia is considering adding reversible HOV lanes to I-295.[3]
Exit list
State/district | County | Location | mi[4] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
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Maryland | Prince George's | Oxon Hill | 0.00 | 0.00 | – | To MD 210 – Indian Head | Continuation beyond I-495 |
1 | Signed as exits 1A (north), 1B (National Harbor), and 1C (south); exit 2B on I-95 / I-495 (Capital Beltway) | ||||||
0.80 0.00 | 1.29 0.00 | District of Columbia line | |||||
U.S. Naval Research Lab, DC Water, Blue Plains | |||||||
2.97 | 4.78 | 2 | South Capitol Street / Malcolm X Avenue / Dorthea Dix Avenue – JBAB, DHS | Signed as exits 2A (South Capitol) and 2B (Malcolm X / Dorthea Dix) southbound | |||
4.34 | 6.98 | 4 | Suitland Parkway / South Capitol Street – Nationals Park, JBAB, DHS USCG HQ | Formerly signed as exits 4A (Suitland) and 4B (South Capitol), and exits 3A and 3B prior to that | |||
4.49 | 7.23 | 4B | Howard Road – Nationals Park | Former southbound exit and northbound entrance; closed as part of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge project | |||
5.03 | 8.10 | 5A | I-395 – Downtown | Rebuilt in 2014 as part of 11th Street Bridges reconstruction; eastern terminus of I-695 (future I-395 south) | |||
5C | 11th Street SE / MLK Jr. Avenue | Opened in 2014 as part of 11th Street Bridges reconstruction; exit 1C on DC 295 | |||||
5B | DC 295 north (Anacostia Freeway) to I-95 / US 50 | Continuation north; exit 1A on DC 295 | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
- U.S. Roads portal
- Maryland Roads portal
References
- ^ a b Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
- ^ Clopton, Williard (August 4, 1964). "Freeway Opens Here on Friday". The Washington Post.
- ^ Thomson, Robert (April 19, 2014). "Plans for HOT lanes on 14th Street Bridge and D.C. freeways still just warming up". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
- ^ Highway Information Services Division (December 31, 2013). Highway Location Reference. Maryland State Highway Administration. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
- Prince George's County (PDF).