How to Travel Virginia and Washington DC's Interstate 395

Co-authored by Christopher Batchelor

Last Updated: January 20, 2025 References

If you need to get to Washington DC but are traveling the Capitol Beltway, although many locals know other routes, commuters will find that taking I-395's 13.79 miles (22.19 km) route ^{[1]
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1

Travel in Virginia.

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In Virginia, I-395 travels mostly northeast-southwest on an almost straight path. It's near several landmarks, but leads you through the Mixing Bowl containing I-95&495 and Shirley Highway, but has no official name in this segment of the interstate.
- In Fairfax County, it has exits for the mixing Bowl exit (southbound only) as well as Springfield's Edsall Rd (2), and an unnumbered exit for the entrance to the I-395 Express lanes (past exit 2).
  - At the Mixing Bowl's straight trip going southbound, you'll encounter several exits. These exits are out of order, but the way the traveler will be presented with them. Northbounders will not have access to these alternate routes, and northbound exits will begin in the next subsection of this article. Only on Google Maps for PC do you notice that this portion of the roadway north of the Capitol Beltway is a continuation of the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway.
    - Exit 1C is first. It is for I-95/I-495 heading north towards Baltimore, as it makes its way around the eastern part of the Capitol Beltway.
      Exit 1D is second. It is for I-495 as it makes its way around the western part of the Capitol Beltway. However, confusion will set in as on a map exit 1C divides and 1D is its division.
    - Exit 1B is third. It is for VA-644 towards Franconia-Springfield. It can be found off of exit 1D, but is listed as being an exit off of I-395 in the Wikipedia article about this particular highway.
    - Exit 1A is its southern terminus where it connects to I-95 S (towards Richmond) and away from Washington, DC. It's expected that travelers will be heading south will venture onto this route naturally, and isn't marked by signs, then joining with the already-existent I-95 Express lanes further just past the exit but before the first exit on I-95 towards Richmond.
- In the City of Alexandria, expect exits for Duke St to Landmark (3A), Little River Turnpike to Lincolnia (3B), Seminary Rd (4), and King St (5).
- In Arlington County, expect exits for Shirlington and its South Glebe Rd (6, 7), Arlington Ridge (8A), Pentagon City-Arlington Memorial Bridge, and Pentagon City-Washington Blvd (unnumbered, 8B), an Express lane entrance and one strictly for the Pentagon and one for Rosslyn at VA-110 to I-66 (unnumbered and 8B), Crystal City (8C) and an exit for I-395 Express (unnumbered), Clark St (9, southbound only) and Long Bridge Park's Boundary Channel towards Pentagon's North Parking (10A).
  - At exit 7, find access to Marymount University and Shirlington, if necessary. However, the exit is signed as 7A south and 7B north).
  - At exit 8A, you'll have access to Washington Blvd to Columbia Pike/S Arlington Rd with access to the Pentagon and South Parking.
  - At exit 8B, you'll have access to the Pentagon, Arlington Cemetery, and Rosslyn, though the Pentagon route much later is through the Express Lanes only, and with access via SR-27.
  - Exit 9 has partial exiting access northbound, as this same exit is tied to exit 10A northbound.
  - At exit 10A, you'll have access to the Pentagon's North Parking.
- At the Arlington-Washington line, expect an exit for the George Washington Parkway towards Reagan National Airport and Mount Vernon (10B-C). At this exit, you'll access the Memorial Bridge, Reagan Airport, and Mount Vernon via the George Washington Parkway, but is signed as 10B (south), 10C (northbound).

2

Cross over the 14th Street Bridges.

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Over the Potomac River lies this set of three parallel four-lane bridges. Heading northbound, you'll cross it with a name as the Rochambeau Bridge, while for southbound it's named the George Mason Memorial Bridge.^{[2]
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- Its CSX industrial, Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express lines all cross here too, under the name the "Long Bridge" However, the Washington DC's Yellow Metrorail line also crosses here as the Charles R. Fenwick Bridge.^{[3]
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3

Travel in Washington DC.

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In Washington DC, although you'll run mostly due east, the highway will curve later due north at a hard turn to follow to the end, where it runs back into an at-grade intersection with its final route. It travels until it meets I-695 (Southeast Freeway) as the Southwest Freeway, where its name changes to the Center Leg Freeway, and running mostly underground in a depressed road since 2019.
- Exits are provided for US-1 (exit 1) and the National Mall and Potomac Park/US Park Police via Ohio Dr (2), along with a northern terminus of the Express lanes shortly thereafter. Express lanes aren't provided in the District of Columbia side of this highway.
- Cross the Francis Case Memorial Bridge. This bridge crosses the Washington Channel but bends and carries traffic under the National Mall as two tunnels (9th and 12th Street Expressways).
- Exits are provided for the 12th St Expressway towards Capitol One Arena (exit 3), Maine Ave (4) and 6th St SW-7th St SW -L'Enfant Promenade (southbound exit only) and I-695 (northbound exit only) (both exit 5).
- Exits are provided for the U.S. Capitol and the House (6, northbound only), and exit for southbounders through I-695 to I-295 in exit 7.
- Cross the Third Street Tunnel. This tunnel crosses underneath Union Square and C St NW, just northwest of the US Capitol.
- Exits are provided for exit 8, where it'll be marked for U.S. Capitol but you'll access it by 2nd St SW, and by exit 9 you'll see the exit for U.S. Senate (for 1st St SW).
- Exits are provided for exit 10, where you'll meet with Massachusetts Ave towards Amtrak.
- Meet with the last section of the Third Street Tunnel. This third and last portion of the tunnel runs with its northern end between Massachusetts Ave and H St NW, where it crosses under the Frances Perkins Building.
- End your named route at New York Avenue, where 4th St NW crosses it. But notice that I-395 is pushed northeast onto New York Ave through a right-turn only at an at-grade intersection.^{[4]
  X
  Research source} It has a set of traffic lights for both I-395 and 4th St NW, but these two streets are separated by a street separator, though the two can be seen by each other.^{[5]
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Before being litigated on by environmentalists and redesigned as I-395, this route was supposed to be the I-95 segment inside the Downtown Washington DC route. However, I-95 became what it currently is served by - the eastern flank of the Capital Beltway and this services what it currently does.^{[6]
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Although it's tricky if you have traveled it the reverse way - ending at the Mixing Bowl where lots of routes come together and travel in all different directions - I-395 isn't all that bad.

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