Interstate 495 (
I-495) is a
Interstate Highway that surrounds
Washington, D.C., the capital of the
United States of America, and the city's inner suburbs in adjacent
Maryland and
Virginia. I-495 is widely known as the
Capital Beltway, the
DC Beltway or simply
the Beltway, especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear. It is the basis of the phrase "
Inside the Beltway," used when referring to issues dealing with American
government and
politics.
I-95 utilizes the southern and eastern half of the Capital Beltway to circumnavigate Washington, D.C., and is
cosigned with I-495 along that route.