20-12 Washington DC Area: The Beltway (Video 14-11 Remixed and Expanded)
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- čas přidán 9. 08. 2020
- Follows a trip around the Capital Beltway (I-95/495 in Maryland in Virginia) clockwise for roughly 2/3 of its distance from Landover to the I-270 Interchange. This video has some unused footage on the front end that was not used in 14-11 and has a completely new soundtrack. All FAQ's and Director's Commentary are after the ride.
Memories of back when I had nothing to do on a hot summer night and would do "a lap around the Beltway" and listen to music (or just think). Naturally, the interchanges and traffic patterns have changed sooo much since I've been gone!
Thanks for the flashback!
Thank you for the comment and for watching, I did the same thing around I-285 (Atlanta) many moons ago.
Oh man, 6:17 is the stuff of nightmares. Once you get on 95 from 495, the traffic backs up like that for at least 15-20 miles.
Didn't realize such a busy stretch of interstate would have a drawbridge. Which are rare on freeways
There are a few drawbridges on interstate highways which are an exception to the rule that drawbridges cannot be built on interstate highways. You got not only Interstates 95/495 on the Capital Beltway in Washington, DC (the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge), you got Interstate 695 crossing Curtis Creek in Baltimore as well as Interstate 110 in Biloxi. The original Sunshine Skyway had a twin set of drawbridges, the first bridge (Structure A) you cross headed south from St. Petersburg. When the Sunshine Skyway was brought up to interstate standards (Interstate 275 multiplexes with US 19), the drawbridges were torn down and replaced with high level bridges, the height similar to the Howard Frankland Bridge between St. Petersburg and Tampa.
@@EdwardRingwald Newark, NJ I-280 William Stickel Bridge Passaic River.
@@EdwardRingwald - the original Fuller Warren Bridge on IH95 in Jacksonville, FL was a draw bridge as well. It was replaced in mid 2001...
Interstate 280 in Toledo had one.
It was either that or a High level bridge that would have been detrimental to old town Alexandria, or a tunnel that would be prohibitive to hazmat trucks. The newer Wilson Bridge is slightly higher than the old which requires fewer lifts.
Super fantastic Video, BTW you got nice comfortable CHAIR!
LOL, Thank you!
Totally agree with you on toll roads. They’re the way of the future and people gotta get used to them, or waste gas stuck in traffic. That’s why I got EZ Pass…money very well spent!
Thanks, it just seems like the logical progression of things.
Enjoyed this video, I live off of I-270.
Thank you!
Nice ride- great video and good sound track and well worth the wait and to find time to watch it when I was not being disturbed by anything! Well worth it! Great ride! Always interesting to see the DC area and see how it grows and all- and great to see the drawbridge on the freeway- as those are rare- Ohio had one but it was replaced in 2010 by a bridge- which is impressive- really enjoying these remixes and your commentary at the end!
Thank you very much!
Washington/Baltimore is huge when you look at it in a way because it’s the only Metro area with 2 beltways instead of one
Houston actually has 2 with the Sam Houston Tollway (Beltway 8) and I-610, but still is incredible of how big the entire DMV area is.
PGN Arbiter I don’t mean like that I’m talking about the beltways around Baltimore and Washington because it’s one big metro area with two beltways going around two cities
@@mattschehr163 What about Dallas & Fort Worth? Each city has a beltway (I-635 & I-820), and Dallas has the makings of a second one in the PGBT. (Or third if you count the old-school Loop 12.)
Richelle Brittain yeah that’s another Metro with separate beltways
@@mattschehr163 So is Baltimore, DFW is a good comparison to the DC-Baltimore area.
I just drove the beltway entirely today. It really to me was a fun ride and it was nice I didn't have those traffic issues at all including when I-95 south leaves to go to Richmond and it was a Monday. It was fun to drive on.
Yes, when traffic is flowing it is a fun drive for sure.
I love your videos! They're like a mental massage!
LOL, thank you!
Your West Virginia video needs to be deleted soon.
I took that road last summer. I was greatly impressed. The time before last, the ramps were just being put up.
Love the DC area freeways! Great job Jim. Stay safe!
Thank you!
Dude, you’re awesome! Keep it up, love your videos. Gives me lots of ideas and inspiration for when the wife and I can finally resume traveling! Nothing like traveling the good ol USA......best country in the world!!!
Thank you for the comment and for watching, yes there are lots of great places to see in our wonderful country.
Great vid Jim as always! Your weather conditions is the dream weather conditions I wish I had in these road trips! Subbed and liked!
Thank you, sometimes I do get lucky with the weather but it rained later that day cancelling some potential videos and 14-12 from NJ and 14-13 from NYC that evening were done in light rain.
Great Music
Thanks for taking the time for us all.
He's da Man!
Thank you very much for watching!
Love your song choices for these vids. Hope you're doing well, Jim.
Thank you very much and all is good.
My grandparents live in Reston Virginia and I love when I get the chance to visit them. Such a nice area and getting down there from central Pennsylvania is one of my favorite trips that I regularly make :)
I've taken multiple trips to Reston; unfortunately for surgical reasons - not the reason I ever wanted to go there. Reston Hospital; the northern end of the Herrity Parkway. Still, the four days I was a patient were relaxing; so was the view out the hospital windows, oddly enough. (Despite the place being owned by HCA; they apparently took common-sense pills - it's better run than INOVA Fair Oaks - and I had surgery there AFTER the Reston stint - different surgery and different surgeon - but the same practice.)
Nice to see a new one. Good work as always.
Thanks, there will be a new one every Monday for the next 8 weeks.
Great video along with great music as always
Thank you!
I went to both FedEx Field (what folks forget is that it USED to be Jack Kent Cooke Stadium; I went there when it held that name). and what is now M&T Bank Stadium (used to be PSINet Stadium) - another one I went to under the old name. I've used the HOT lanes on the Virginia side (especially from the Springfield Interchange to VA-7) - especially when going to see my surgeons. My oncology surgeons are in two practices - one in Reston; the other in Chantilly (used to be in Fairfax). My appointments were typically in the AM - and I live in Maryland - which meant rush-hour traffic - YUCK! I used to do the Crystal City Commute back when I was working; not fun. This is LONGER. I can tell you; you will think that the toll is worth it to avoid the pain of rush-hour snarlage - which is COMMONPLACE on the Inner Loop on the Virginia side between US 50 and VA-123. "But why didn't you choose surgeons based in Maryland?" Simple; there aren't any worth anything in DC's Maryland suburbs - or DC itself, for that matter; if you want the best cutters - for ANY surgery (and when it's your neck, you do), you go to Virginia. The odd part is that for chemo and radiation therapies, Maryland reigns supreme (and I won't trade my team for anything - and they are all within five miles of my house); however, the Old Line State stinks for surgeons (except for the eye - and there, Annapolis and Baltimore are your best bets). Rant over.
Awesome! Great work Jim!
Thank you!
I remember my first trip on the beltway. That traffic was intimidating at first. I haven't been on beltway for some years but I remember quite a few cloverleaf intersections in Maryland.
I'm impressed by your beltway driving skills 🙂 Being from Annapolis, I really appreciate this video. You have great taste in music too.
I hope you get to the Bay Bridge someday. It's where I live and have crossed it many many times. It's a big part of my life and I love the Eastern Shore.
What would your song selection be?
Thank you for sharing all these trips with us!
Thank you very much, I don't know what I'd use on the Bay Bridge, i'd have to see the footage and what it "feels" like (Mood, traffic, skies and such).
Awesome Video Around Washington DC!
Thank you!
For what it’s worth, the Washington football team has intentions of moving back to RFK Stadium. This is why Dan Snyder’s football folly is dropping their name because the city of Washington DC wouldn’t take them back otherwise.
I think he's wanting to build a new stadium in RFK's place. But yes, the city rejecting the R-name is ONE of the reasons he's dropping it. (Post-George Floyd objections by team sponsors, especially FedEx which threatened to cancel its stadium naming deal & whose founder Frederick W. Smith is a co-owner, is the other.)
Official Alonzo But how much are D.C. residents going to be on the hook for to help him pay for a new place to play and all the other stuff ( like a better subway and other infrastructure) he’s going to want in a new stadium ? Didn’t he sucker enough money from Maryland taxpayers to pay for the stadium he has now ? It hardly seems like FedEx field is old enough to be replacing so soon ?
I really enjoyed it. Thank you!
Thank you very much!
Nice songs you chose for this remix. I also love the starting scene in Maryland Route 202 (MD 202) and the end to Interstate 270 Spur (I-270 MD Spur).
Thank you very much!
@@Freewayjim hey freeway jim we r doin a road trip sat at 630am we r goin 2 Sevierville tenn im really nervous we r taking 64 all the way up 2 81south i we live in va can u do a video of tht 4 me and is it a straight shot 2 and from?
@@Freewayjim we are leaving ths sat and leaving next sat
@@matthewlinka6473 Are you serious? I live in Atlanta, but sure I'll take the time, money, and effort to drive out there, shoot hours of footage, and whip up a video just for you ASAP, no problem, smh, good lord. Also, Google Maps will answer your 2nd question.
@@matthewlinka6473 How old are you?
Hey Jim! Skyline Drive of Shenandoah National Park is a great drive only a 2 hours from DC. One my favorites!
Great video. I enjoyed it
Thank you!
I think you're 100% right on the toll lanes. Where I live, the Twin Cities, could definitely stand to use them but with the weather and the current freeway designs...it's a little difficult to imagine how it'd work.
Thanks, just remember, highway engineers with a healthy budget can accomplish most anything :)
@@Freewayjim I agree, my cousin is a civil engineer in Fort Worth and I'm amazed at the process they go through with projects. They also want to expand I-94 in both directions, but the Lowry Hill Tunnel is a huge obstacle for that as well. I imagine it'd either be expensive, long and messy, but the payoff would be worth it.
@@arodgefan589 It usually is in those cases.
The two parts of the beltway are very different. The Virginia part has a lot of features and there's always something going on with interesting interchanges and ramps. The Maryland part is almost mundane compared to that.
You are spot on with your observation, I believe Maryland is wanting to add HOT lanes to their part of the Beltway, which would be a good idea.
I really enjoyed this video, even though it also reminded me how infuriating DC traffic is!
Thanks, traffic was actually quite good here relative to what it usually is, no complaints.
@@Freewayjim hi
The thru-vs-local lane configuration reminds me of I-271 in Cleveland (outer local lanes and inner "express lanes")
Cool video maybe I’ll come here 1 day
Thanks.
Good work Jim!
Thank you!
Love your videos👌🏻🇺🇲
Thank you!
ive actually been to every part of the beltway you’ve touched in this video, plus the top side (270 to 95). the only part i havent been on is from 95 (maryland) to landover
Reminds me why I hated driving for Uber. COVID reduced traffic. But still a mess.
@Nobody Smith Not even the puke?
I drove part of the Beltway in 1999 before a lot of the improvements seen here were implemented. Would like to visit the DC area again...but the traffic!
The original WW Bridge was dedicated on 12/28/1961, which would have been WW's 105th birthday. His widow was scheduled to be the guest of honor that day, but she died that morning instead.
Same here on FedExField. I drove by it. Wasn't impressed. The Auto Train leaving Lorton Station was more impressive to me.
I believe the I-4 ultimate will widen and include hot lanes from Altamonte Springs West through downtown Orlando ending a few miles West on the other side of Orlando.
@Cyclone Fani I take it you didnt notice his discussion concerning the popularity of hot lanes and decided to be a "dick" this August 10, 2020?
after I-66 express lanes project is done. VDOT and MDOT are thinking about putting express lanes on The Entire Beltway! Including I-270! To Frederick because a lot of people are moving to Frederick from Baltimore! Which is making a lot of Traffic on I-70 and I-270! So yea!
Of course we'll keep watching. Some of us will even drop what we're doing to watch (retirement rocks!). I sure don't remember I-495 as nothing else but a parking lot... Of course, that was way back in the late '80's. Not a single HOT lane to be found back then.
Thank you, yeah that road has always been a traffic nightmare but the new improvements on the south and west sides seem to have helped.
I have the Alarm's STRENGTH album from 1985. Side 1 ("Knife Edge", the title track, "Dawn Chorus" and "Spirit of '76") is a keeper.
Great redo. Hey, if you have footage, why not?
Also I find it weird with all that construction on the Springfield Interchange and the work on I-95 to the south that it's sad to see that clog of traffic on that flyover.
Don't blame you for going to either Falls Church (inside the Beltway) or Chantilly (outside the Beltway) for lunch. The last time I was in that area, in fact, I went to Mission BBQ in Chantilly.
We ate/met my friends in Falls Church.
I use to live in Landover a lot has changed since then , now i live in Charleston, SC
I agree HOT lanes are a great solution for high volume traffic. And tolls are needed to cover the expenditure. Pay or stay...it's your choice.
Exactly and the same number of general-purpose lanes are still available so nobody is getting screwed out of anything.
Great video! What are you doing to mitigate the glare from the windshield?
Thank you, I have a dashboard cover (homemade), go to 3:01 of this video for a photo and more explanation. czcams.com/video/giPF3ENOTxA/video.html
Nice dude video
Thanks
28 years in the DC area and I have a very deep love/hate relationship with 495 - love in the early morning, hate in the afternoon
It was nice during the early months and summer of the pandemic. It was awesome without rush hour traffic.
Yes a new vid freewayjim is the best
Thank you!
This is probably the closest you have ever been to my house 😂 I live about 70 miles northwest of Springfield
About 15 miles northwest of the north end of I- 270
Hagerstown?
Daniel Baldwin Thurmont
Central Maryland Weather Nice. Right up Rt. 15 from me.
Daniel Baldwin yup
I really love the Washington, DC area I love to go out travel and take pictures in the DC area and If you know My Granny lives in Manassas, VA
I am from Washington DC the traffic is crazy during rush hour
Freewayjim first of all great video like always. Second thing. Do you know that some websites put Georgia as to having the best roads in the United States?
Thank you and I've heard that, not surprising, Georgia's roads are usually in excellent condition.
@@Freewayjim What's even better is that there are no toll roads in GA.
@@amariongabriele9354 Well, we do have toll lanes like the ones in this video and more will be built this decade.
What if your favorite stretch of freeway in Atlanta? For me it is the Downtown connector Southbound from the Brookwood split to I-20, followed by I-85 from Jimmy Carter to 316, then I-75 from 285 to 575. The tunnel on the south end of 285 near the airport is also a good one. At least traveling eastbound.
@@amariongabriele9354 The Connector southbound coming in from I-85
I use live in Vienna outside of the Beltway
I often wish they built the freeway system as originally planned, and signed I-595. It feels odd having to circumnavigate city streets instead of driving on high speed freeways like what was originally planned.
I agree.
The same people that don’t want freeways just complain afterwards when they’re sitting on crowded city streets. They know they can’t have it both ways.
There’s soon to be an Interstate designation shakeup in DC. I-695 will become I-395, and I-395 northward from the I-395/695 junction will become I-195.
When I've looked at the Beltway on a map, I've seen a bit of it near the Potomac River that's actually in the District of Columbia, maybe only a mile, but it appears to be in DC. Do the signs ever show I-495 inside DC?
Not that I'm aware of but it does indeed go inside DC for just a bit (0.11 miles). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Beltway
@@Freewayjim Thanks. Wow, that's short enough for me to walk, if it were allowed. :)
Have you always lived in Atlanta? If not where did you live before, just curious
My family moved to Atlanta in 1977, I lived in many places before then but was born in Concord, NH.
Like the express lane aka hot lanes
Yes, they are pretty neat.
Good video. I see a good amount of similarities between DC and Atlanta in terms of freeways. The east-west interstate for each is not talked about, and the beltways for both suck. In terms of cities themselves, they have similar populated metros and lots of trees.
If they were going to spend billions to update the W.W. Bridge, why didn't they just replace it with a higher non-drawbridge in order to upgrade 95/495 to Interstate highway standards? Seems like a wasted opportunity for a permanent solution to me.
IIRC, zoning prohibited a taller bridge, and I'm assuming that a tunnel would have been too expensive. They did make the new bridge tall enough that it rarely opens.
@@buddyclem7328 IC...Thanks.
I believe the Potomac is open to some ocean-going vessels right up to the 14th Street Bridges. (Some of those have now-inoperable draw spans, as does the Arlington Memorial Bridge upstream from them.) The extra height for sufficient clearance would have been astronomical, likely requiring a more substantial structure (cable-stayed?); since the navigation channel is along the Alexandria shoreline it almost certainly would have made the mitigating measures taken where it borders downtown Alexandria (deck parks, park-like pedestrian paths) all but impossible. Being a drawbridge wasn't the old Wilson Bridge's only oddity; it was also the only interstate bridge to be built BY the federal government. (The new bridge was a more normal MD-VA joint venture, with MD representing DC for the small mid-bridge section within the District.)
Not to mention there are other drawbridges at key points on the interstate system, including *THE* Interstate Bridge on I-5 outside Portland (originally built & named in 1917, long before the interstate system, because it connected Oregon & Washington State). The Interstate Bridge's second span was built in 1958, a year after I-5 was routed over it; the original 1917 span was then rebuilt (finished in 1960) to match the 1958 span's "humpback" section, obviously added to reduce the need to raise the draw span. Like the Wilson Bridge, the expanded Interstate Bridge was built shortly after the interstate system began, crosses a river (the Columbia River) that occasionally carries ocean-going vessels, and had height restrictions preventing a higher clearance (underneath an approach to Portland International Airport). Drawbridges on the interstate system are extremely rare but they do occasionally have their place, whether close to Washington, D.C. or Washington State.
what camera is used?
You know what're the bad news? Not all of Washington DC is 3D modeled in Google Earth. The Springfield interchange isn't 3D in Google Earth as a result. D:
Oh my, I don't know if I can sleep at night now ;)
Exit 7a ✨😎
Is it your job to travel??
Nope, just a hobby and I really don't travel much at all.
The area is too congested and has suburban sprawl problems also not the friendliest bunch of people also.
Reylyn Bautista
Taffy
I heard that DC is one of the most fancy cities in America. I don't know if that statement is true 😂
It depends on what you consider "fancy" to be, DC is very expensive, has a lot of tourist attractions and the US Government is there so that counts for something I suppose, but it's not a city with much natural beauty like San Francisco or Seattle have (and they are very expensive too).
@@Freewayjim fancy about the people of the town wears expensive clothes or their appearance is like they have money or possibilities and the lifestyle which surround the city is quite posh.
@@gstv612 You can find that in most big cities, DC is up there with NYC, Chicago, SF & LA in that sense but you can find it in Miami, Atlanta, Boston & Dallas just as well.
Are you like a rock guy or pop?
Rock, Pop, R&B, Jazz
18:15 No one will know the finale on California SR 1...hahahahaha!
That was well before I ever thought of doing the preview video.
Why are you driving so fast?
The footage is sped up, I'm maybe 5-10 MPH over the speed limit.
I know you sped up this video but I don't like how you are passing all the car it seems like your driving so fast like an impatient driver
@@BennyDigitalNomad51 This is almost 10 years after the footage was shot, seriously? The sped-up footage makes everything look more "dramatic" in a speed sense than it actually was.
@@FreewayjimI'm sorry but I just don't like your driving I like driving in the middle lane but just seeing a video of someone changing lanes to every car and sometimes even for no reason it kinda makes me dizzy
@@BennyDigitalNomad51 I'm not changing lanes for no reason, I'm trying to keep the view clear for the video, and trust me I won't lose sleep knowing you don't like my driving.
When are you getting a haircut?
When I feel the need to.
6:24 Thumbnail
6:17 back up traffic
Good thing you stayed on the Beltway. A parking lot on a flyover could be scary.
@@richellebrittain2127 Only in California :)
@@Freewayjim Why only in California? You don't have to be in La La Land (the place OR the movie, a la "Another Day of Sun") to be scared of you OR your car falling off a flyover, even though that's extremely rare. ;)
@@richellebrittain2127 Earthquake....and I'm not scared of it, I just feel that's the most likely place of that happening .00001% notwithstanding :)
@@Freewayjim There's a chance of earthquakes taking out flyovers where I live thanks to the New Madrid fault, which had a "big one" 200 years ago and is overdue for another. But I was talking about being stuck in traffic WAY up in the air on one of those things, like the I-95 flyover in this video. Add some shaking and it would be even scarier!
Hello
Hello!
8:57