Interstate 395 (District of Columbia-Virginia)

Interstate 395 (abbreviated I-395) in Virginia is a 13 mile (21 km) long spur route that begins at a junction with Interstate 95 in Springfield, Virginia and ends in downtown Washington, District of Columbia. It passes underneath the National Mall near the United States Capitol and ends at a junction with U.S. Highway 50 at New York Avenue, roughly a mile (2 km) north of the Capitol tunnel.

History: Shirley Highway

The portion of Interstate 395 between The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia and the interchange with Interstate 95 and the Capital Beltway at Springfield was originally part of the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway, named for a Virginia Highway Commissioner, who died on July 16, 1941, just a few weeks after approving work on the new expressway. Originally Virginia Highway 350, the full-length of the Shirley Highway was opened on Sept. 6, 1949 from a point south of the Pentagon to Woodbridge, Virginia along what is now the Interstate 95 corridor. Shirley Highway featured the nation's first reversible bus lanes, a precursor to today's HOV lanes.

Interstate Highway through Washington

Original plans called for I-95 to cut straight through Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County, Maryland toward the northeastern portion of the Capital Beltway, from which I-95 currently continues its northbound route. However, neighborhood opposition in the District halted this plan in 1977, diverting planned funding to construction of the Washington Metro. This portion of I-95 within the Beltway became I-395, while the eastern half of the Beltway was re-designated I-95 (and, later, co-signed I-95/I-495). I-395 now ends in Washington, D.C., at a traffic signal at U.S. Highway 50, which is New York Avenue, near Mount Vernon Square.

The following names are used for I-395 in the District: the Southwest Freeway from the 14th Street Bridge to the I-395/695 interchange, the Center Leg or Center Leg Freeway from the I-395/695 interchange to New York Avenue, and the 3rd Street Tunnel for the segment under the National Mall.

Springfield Interchange

The jumble of highways in Virginia where I-395, I-95, and the Capital Beltway meet is officially called the Springfield Interchange.

Unofficially, this intersection has begun to be known as The Mixing Bowl, a moniker that often causes confusion, as the intersection of I-395, Washington Boulevard, and Columbia Pike just several miles north was historically known (and continues to be recognized by VDOT) by the same name. Thus, within ten miles, two major interchanges have the identical informal name.

HOV facility

A noteworthy feature, at least from the standpoint of local commuters, is a reversible, barrier-separated HOV facility, with its own entrances and exits, provided as a third roadway of Interstates 395 and 95 between Washington, D.C., and Virginia State Highway 234 in Prince William County, Virginia. During rush hour, the HOV facility operates in the direction of rush-hour traffic and is reserved for HOV-3 and certain other users. At other times, the HOV facility may be open to all traffic, but still in only one direction, or it may be closed to all traffic.

Currently in Virginia, motorcycles, alternative fuel cars, hybrid vehicles, and federal law enforcement vehicles are also permitted to use HOV lanes even with only one occupant. The law allowing hybrid vehicles to use the facility, however, is poised to expire in July 2006, at which time non-HOV hybrids would no longer be authorized to use the lanes. ^* Opinion varies on whether the law should be allowed to expire, dividing based on the supposed primary purpose of the lanes: are they mainly to reduce pollution (in which any hybrids should be encouraged) or are they mainly to increase volume throughput (in which case non-HOV hybrids don't help at all)?

This was initially constructed with a single lane as the first busway in the United States before being expanded and converted to HOV use.

Potomac River: Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge

I-395 and US 1 cross the Potomac River from Virginia to Washington, D.C. on a three-span bridge. During an evening rush-hour snowstorm in 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed on take-off from National Airport and hit one of the spans. The oldest span, formerly named the Rochambeau, is now named the Arland D. Williams, Jr. Memorial Bridge, in honor of a passenger of Flight 90 who survived the crash, escaped from the sinking aircraft, and perished in the Potomac River while saving others from the icy waters.

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