Woodrow Wilson Bridge in the context of "Capital Beltway"

Interstate 95 (I-95) runs 179 miles (288 km) within the commonwealth of Virginia between its borders with North Carolina and Maryland. I-95 meets the northern terminus of I-85 in Petersburg and is concurrent with I-64 for three miles (4.8 km) in Richmond. Although I-95 was originally planned as a highway through Washington, D.C. (following the route of what is now I-395), it was rerouted along the eastern portion of the Capital Beltway concurrent with I-495. From Petersburg to Richmond, I-95 utilized most of the Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike, a former toll road (the south end of the toll road was on I-85). In addition to Richmond, the route also runs through the medium-sized cities of Emporia, Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Fredericksburg, and Alexandria.

It enters the Capital Beltway at the Springfield Interchange, also known as the Mixing Bowl. I-95 continues over the Potomac River on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Washington, D.C. (for 0.11 miles [0.18 km] on the bridge) and then into Maryland on the Capital Beltway.

Interstate 95 (I-95) is an interstate highway running along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canadian border in Houlton, Maine. In Maryland, the route is a major highway that runs 110.0 miles (177.0 km) diagonally from southwest to northeast, entering from Washington, D.C. and Virginia at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River, northeast to the Delaware state line near Elkton. It is the longest Interstate Highway within Maryland and is one of the most traveled Interstate Highways in the state, especially between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., despite alternate routes along the corridor, such as the Baltimore–Washington Parkway, US 1, and US 29. I-95 also has eight auxiliary routes in the state, the most of any state along the I-95 corridor. Portions of the highway, including the Fort McHenry Tunnel and the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge, are tolled.

From the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to the community of College Park, it follows a portion of the Capital Beltway, completed in 1964 and numbered as I-95 in 1977. Prior to 1977, the route was intended to go on a new highway through Washington, D.C.; however, public opposition caused the cancelation of I-95 inside of the Capital Beltway. The unnamed section between the Capital Beltway to north of Baltimore was completed in various stages between 1964 and 1985, while the northeastern section from Baltimore to the Delaware state line, known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (named after the former US president, John F. Kennedy), was the first section completed, opening to traffic in 1963. A rebuild of this section was begun in 2006, and is underway; as of 2022, several miles of express toll lanes have been added to I-95 north of Baltimore, with further widening of the roadway planned through to the Delaware state line.

The Capital Beltway, designated as Interstate 495 (I-495) for its entire length, is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area. The 64-mile (103 km) beltway encircles Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. It also passes through the capital, near the western end of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River; Prince George's and Montgomery counties in Maryland and Fairfax County; and the independent city of Alexandria in Virginia.

The route is the basis of the phrase "inside the Beltway", used when referring to issues dealing with U.S. federal government and politics. Its southern and eastern half runs concurrently with I-95. It was constructed in 1964. The Cabin John Parkway, a short connector between I-495 and the Clara Barton Parkway near the Potomac River along the Maryland–Virginia border, is considered an Interstate spur (I-495X) by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA).