I-695

About I-695

Also known as Baltimore Beltway, McKeldin Beltway.

Interstate 695 is a three-digit auxiliary route of Interstate 95, with an odd prefix digit, although its main instance is a beltway. The best known route is in Maryland, where Interstate 695 is the Baltimore Beltway, a partial loop encircling Baltimore and its inner suburbs. It is officially the McKeldin Beltway but is almost always called the Baltimore Beltway or simply 695.

Two other instances are much smaller. In New York, Interstate 695 is a short connector in the Bronx, formally the Throgs Neck Expressway, which has no physical connection to the Baltimore route and shares only the same auxiliary number under Interstate 95. In the District of Columbia, Interstate 695 is a short connector built along the Southeast Freeway corridor near the Anacostia River, the surviving piece of a once larger and never fully built freeway plan.

The Maryland beltway is the dominant instance and functions as the primary distributor ring for the Baltimore region, carrying both commuter and through traffic around the city. Its even role as a loop is reflected in everyday use even though the prefix digit is odd.

History

The eastern side of the Baltimore Beltway carried the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a steel arch span over the Patapsco River. On March 26, 2024, the bridge collapsed after the container ship Dali lost power and struck one of its support piers, and six members of a roadway maintenance crew were killed. The collapse closed that section of Interstate 695 and blocked most shipping to and from the Port of Baltimore for several weeks, with officials later planning a replacement span.

Major cities and places

Notable features

• Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River, which collapsed in March 2024

Did you know

• The Maryland route is the Baltimore Beltway, officially the McKeldin Beltway.
• Its eastern side carried the Francis Scott Key Bridge until the 2024 collapse.
• The New York route is the short Throgs Neck Expressway in the Bronx.
• The District of Columbia route is a short Southeast Freeway connector.