Interstate 95 / Interstate 495 & Interstate 295 Interchange

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This is the interchange between I-95/495 and I-295. Originally built in 1960, it was overhauled in the late 1980s, to allow for a 1.5 mile extension of I-295 to MD 210. In the 2000s, it was overhauled again, to allow for access to National Harbor and for the replacement Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which was built on a slightly different location.

When the interchange first opened in 1961 along with the section of the Beltway between US-1 in Virginia (Exit 177) and MD-210 (Exit 3), land was cleared for loop ramps to and from southbound I-95 & I-495 (inner loop), which were intended to be built for a southerly extension of I-295 through Prince George's County, Maryland that was part of the 1950 Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) master plan as part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway system, which would've headed towards nearby Fort Washington Park. The M-NCPPC also planned an alternative version of this extension in 1969, which was designated as MD-71 in a Prince George's County planning map, in response to opposition to a then-planned Southeast Freeway entering Maryland through Wheeler Road and a waterfront route along the Potomac River, with crossings at MD-210, MD-223 (Piscataway Rd), MD-5, and the proposed Outer Beltway as it heads south towards Charles County. By 1979, the extension was removed from the Prince George's County master plan and thus was never constructed, which was the result of community opposition and budget constraints.

In 2004, the current bridges over I-95 & I-495 and the semi-directional ramp from southbound I-295 to northbound I-95 & I-495 (Exit 1A) were constructed, replacing the loop ramp that previously served that movement.

Interstate 295, D.C. Route 295, Anacostia Freeway, Washington, National Harbor