JerseySnake wrote:
Is there much difference between going this way and taking 495 West at exit 27 in Maryland all the way around the otherside of Washington instead and merging back with 95?
If you enter the Beltway (I-495) on the north side from Maryland between 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM, the answer to your questions is no. If you merge onto the Beltway at just about any other time of the day or night, the answer is a decidedly resounding yes.
The Beltway (I-495) is notoriously congested at nearly all times of the day and evening. Between construction, accidents, and volume, the road just can't handle the vehicular activity around Washington. Although the miles may be nearly equal, the route outlined (I-295) that bisects I-495 is not well known and thus stays clear on most days and most hours of any given day.
You can try the I-495 West route at the merge and see how you make out. But I'm guessing that for every 10 times you do that, on 8 of them you'll be stopped in a huge scrum of stationary traffic about 15 miles from the I-95 South merge in Virginia with 4,000 of your closest friends while calculating the odds that this will be the half-hour block of time when Jack Bauer was unsuccessful in stopping the nuclear device from going off in the District.
Just your luck.