What is Capital Beltway?

The Capital Beltway is a 64-mile Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area that surrounds Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. It is the basis of the phrase "inside the Beltway", used when referring to issues dealing with U.S. federal government and politics. The highway is signed as Interstate 495 for its entire length, and its southern and eastern half runs concurrently with I-95.