Interstate 95 Exit 170 (Springfield Interchange)

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A complex, directional, four level interchange at Interstate 95 Exit 170, Interstate 495 Exit 57, and Interstate 395 Exit 1 near Springfield, Virginia, south of Washington, DC. It is sometimes referred to as the Mixing Bowl, not to be confused with the original Mixing Bowl to the north on I-395. It is among the largest and most complex interchanges on the East Coast. It is further complicated by the HOT Express Lanes along I-95 and I-395, as well as the proximity of Exit 169 just to the south.

This interchange was originally built in the early 1960s as a directional cloverleaf interchange with semi-directional ramps from westbound I-495 (inner loop) onto southbound I-95, from southbound I-495 (outer loop) onto northbound I-395 (exiting from the left) (current Exit 57B), and from northbound I-95 onto westbound I-495 (inner loop) (entering from the left) (current Exit 170B).

When the Beltway was widened to eight lanes between US 1 (Exit 177) and SR 193 (Exit 44) in 1977, which was the same year I-95 was rerouted along its eastern half between Springfield, Virginia and College Park, Maryland (the section from Springfield to New York Avenue in Washington, D.C. was re-designated I-395), the semi-directional ramp movement from northbound I-95 to westbound I-495 (current Exit 170B) was replaced by a flyover loop ramp that still entered from the left.

In response to increasing, worsening traffic volumes through the interchange as a result of I-95's rerouting onto the Beltway, which included weaving and accidents, this interchange was rebuilt to its more complex configuration between 1999 and 2007 along with the SR 644 interchange (Exit 169) to the south.

In 2004, as part of the fourth phase of the reconstruction project, southbound I-95 was relocated from the semi-directional ramp it formerly continued on after splitting from I-495 to the long flyover ramp entering and exiting from the left, carrying through traffic on southbound I-95; the former ramp movement now provides access to SR 644 from westbound I-495 (inner loop) (Exit 169).

In 2005, for the project's sixth and seventh phases, the current semi-directional ramp from southbound I-395 to northbound I-95 & eastbound I-495 (Exit 1C) was constructed, replacing the loop ramp that previously served that movement. The connections from southbound I-395 and eastbound I-495 (outer loop) to SR 644 (I-395 Exit 1B & I-495 Exit 169) - the former of which used most of the former movement from westbound I-495 onto southbound I-95 - were also constructed that same year.

In 2006, northbound I-95 was relocated onto another long flyover exiting and entering from the left-hand side carrying through traffic, much like its southbound direction. Later that year, the flyover from northbound I-95 onto westbound I-495 (inner loop) (Exit 170B) was constructed.

In 2007, the semi-directional ramp from eastbound I-495 (outer loop) onto northbound I-395 (Exit 57B) was reconstructed so that it exits from the right instead of the left, eliminating a weaving issue. That same year, connections to the interchange from westbound SR 644 separate from mainline I-95/I-395 were constructed, as with the connections to the SR 644 interchange from I-495 and southbound I-395.

Destinations:
Interstate 95 North / Interstate 495 East (Outer Loop)- Baltimore MD
Interstate 95 South- Richmond
Interstate 495 West (Inner Loop)- Tysons Corner
Interstate 395 North- Washington DC