Interstate 95 in Virginia partially coincident with Capital Beltway
Interstate 95 (I-95) runs 179 miles (288 km) within the commonwealth of Virginia between its borders with North Carolina and Maryland. I-95 meets the northern terminus of I-85 in Petersburg and is concurrent with I-64 for three miles (4.8 km) in Richmond. Although I-95 was originally planned as a highway through Washington, D.C. (following the route of what is now I-395), it was rerouted along the eastern portion of the Capital Beltway concurrent with I-495. From Petersburg to Richmond, I-95 utilized most of the Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike, a former toll road (the south end of the toll road was on I-85). In addition to Richmond, the route also runs through the medium-sized cities of Emporia, Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Fredericksburg, and Alexandria.
It enters the Capital Beltway at the Springfield Interchange, also known as the Mixing Bowl. I-95 continues over the Potomac River on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Washington, D.C. (for 0.11 miles [0.18 km] on the bridge) and then into Maryland on the Capital Beltway.
The route between Fredericksburg and Springfield is consistently one of the most congested routes of highway in the US, particularly during holidays and rush hours. The causes for this congestion are lack of alternative routes, fewer lanes than needed, and the spread-out suburbs of the Washington, D.C. area. To solve this problem, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) started a project to widen I-95 to six lanes between the cities, as well as adding express lanes and new offramps to U.S. Route 17 (US 17) and State Route 3 (SR 3) through Fredericksburg. The project was started in 2018 and is planned to be completed by the end of 2023.On January 4, 2022, a major traffic jam occurred, leaving some people stuck in traffic for more than 24 hours due to heavy snowfall.Auxiliary routes
Current
I-195 is a short spur from north of downtown Richmond south into downtown.
I-295 is a bypass to the east of Richmond, from I-95 south of Petersburg, across I-64 east of Richmond and I-95 north of Richmond to I-64 west of Richmond.
I-395 is a branch from Springfield north into downtown Washington, D.C. It was part of I-95 until 1977.
I-495 is the Capital Beltway, a full loop around Washington, D.C. Since 1977, I-95 has run along its eastern half.
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