Amy Freedman, wtop.com
Driving along Interstate 295 D.C. northbound in the last week or so you may have been utterly perplexed to see the new signs which indicate that Interstate 695 will take you to Interstate 395/Capitol Hill. You also may have been confused by the new traffic pattern which makes continuing on I-295 an exit and taking I-695/395 the thruway, but that’s a whole other story.
If you’ve driven in the region for any amount of time, you know there are a couple of truths we hold to be self evident; There is a “Capitol Beltway” I-495 and a “Baltimore Beltway” I-695. These two roads (along with I-95) are the most highly traveled and well known roads in the region. So how could anyone in their right mind name a 1.39 mile strip of roadway in the middle of Washington, D.C. I-695?
What we know as the Southeast Freeway connecting I-295 with I-395, was originally designated I-63N in early 1958 but the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) rejected that name and the D.C. officials then proposed I-695 which was accepted. Coincidentally, 1958 was also the year that the Baltimore Beltway (or Baltimore County Beltway as it was known then) became eligible for federal funding and received it’s designation as I-695. According to the AASHO guidelines; three digit routes are considered “auxiliary routes” and these route numbers can be repeated in different states (or districts as the case may be).
The saving grace in all of this was that for the last 50 years or so absolutely no one has referred to the Southeast Freeway as I-695. Now that the new 11th Street bridge project is being completed and the name has been brought back, at least on the signage, it remains to be seen what kind of confusion and chaos will ensue. Imagine the unsuspecting traveler from North Carolina who visits D.C. and then plans to head to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. “Look, dear. Baltimore’s right here, and YOU said it was a 45-minute ride!” The possibilities for confusion seem endless.
Comparing distances of the two 695s, the Baltimore Beltway I-695 runs around 52 miles while D.C. I-695 around a mile and a half. For our part in the traffic center, we will most likely continue to refer to the Southeast Freeway as just that because while we most certainly believe that “all men are created equal” we can’t say the same of our I-695s.
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