DC-295 Highway

DC 295 is the only state route within the District of Columbia. It measures 4.9 miles total and is mainly composed two segments:

• 2.3 miles of Kenilworth Avenue Freeway that runs from the Maryland state line to north of East Capitol Street, which sees an annual average daily traffic count of about 100,905 vehicles.

• 2.7 miles of Anacostia Freeway that connects I-295 south to Richmond up to East Capitol Street, which sees an annual average daily traffic count of about 127,762 vehicles.

295 serves as a regional connector north to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway via Kenilworth Avenue, south on I-295 towards Richmond, and provides access to downtown Washington DC for Ward 7, Ward 8, and Prince Georges’ County MD. It also provides local connections for employees and visitors to the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, DC Department of Employment Services building and DC’s Department of Housing and Community Development building.

Currently improving pedestrian safety and mobility throughout the I-295/ DC 295 corridor and across the Anacostia River has been the focus of DC’s Department of Transportation. Most notably the opening of the Fredrick Douglass Bridge allows for improved bike space into Anacostia Park and for a safer direct crossing experience into the Navy Yard & Buzzard Point.

MoveDC, the District’s Long-Range Multimodal Transportation Plan, identifies a number of communities with the greatest transportation needs, based on proximity to frequent transit, access to jobs and amenities, and safety risks. Many of these areas are also home to historically under-served communities of color, lowincome residents, and people with disabilities. The Anacostia River Corridor falls at the intersection of both these considerations, thus calling for a greater focus in transit equity to improve the corridor’s options for multimodal connectivity.