Four Bridges Connecting Va. to D.C. Will Be Closed Starting Tuesday

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. That's a different bridge. I-395 crosses the Potomac River next to National Airport.

Think: the Air Florida crash. That's where the I-395 bridge is. The American Legion Bridge carries I-495 over the Potomac.

Look at the chart in this thread:

Wed Jan 13, 2021: 39 Years Ago Today; Air Florida Flight 90 plunges into Potomac River after takeoff



When I-95 nears DC from Richmond, it makes a three-way split. One way is to keep going (mostly) due north. That's I-395, which goes into DC. It goes past the Pentagon and under the approach path of aircraft headed into DCA coming downriver, from the northwest. On the chart above, I-395 crosses the Potomac River on the George Mason Bridge and what used to called the Rochambeau Bridge, now renamed the Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge (but I've never heard anyone use that name). Everyone calls the I-395 bridges, collectively, "the 14th Street Bridge."

14th Street bridges

To stay on I-95 and go around DC, you make a right turn. This takes you into Prince George's County, Maryland, by way of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. That stretch of I-95 is shared with I-495, the Capital Beltway. That way puts you on the Outer Loop, going counter-clockwise.

If you make a left turn, you head toward Montgomery County, Maryland, by way of the American Legion Bridge. This is also I-495, the Capital Beltway. This way puts you on the Inner Loop, going clockwise.

American Legion Memorial Bridge (Potomac River)