Please explain inner/outer loops!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the confusing part about the usage of outer loop vs inner loop is that those phrases suggest that there are two loops. But there is really just one, and you are either on the outer part of it going counterclockwise, or the inner part of it going clockwise.

No, there are two loops. One goes counter and the other goes clockwise. OMG.

There is ONE road with ONE name - 495. The lanes traveling in the clockwise direction are the Inner loop. The lanes traveling in the opposite direction are the Outer loop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the confusing part about the usage of outer loop vs inner loop is that those phrases suggest that there are two loops. But there is really just one, and you are either on the outer part of it going counterclockwise, or the inner part of it going clockwise.

No, there are two loops. One goes counter and the other goes clockwise. OMG.

There is ONE road with ONE name - 495. The lanes traveling in the clockwise direction are the Inner loop. The lanes traveling in the opposite direction are the Outer loop.

Okay, One road with two loops, happy?

[Anonymous]

Just know OP that in the inner loop, time speeds up a tad; time also slows a bit in the outer loop. It’s not really noticeable but if you were to do something like ten consecutive loops, you would lose or gain about five minutes depending on which loop you were on. It has like something to do with algebra and quantum mechanics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the confusing part about the usage of outer loop vs inner loop is that those phrases suggest that there are two loops. But there is really just one, and you are either on the outer part of it going counterclockwise, or the inner part of it going clockwise.

This. I think it’s a stupid way of distinguishing clockwise and counter clockwise.

I lived in Dallas for a few years before I moved here - they have two separate roads/highways that encircle or mostly encircle the metro area, which is why I was confused the first year or so I was here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the confusing part about the usage of outer loop vs inner loop is that those phrases suggest that there are two loops. But there is really just one, and you are either on the outer part of it going counterclockwise, or the inner part of it going clockwise.

That's exactly why I had so much trouble. In Houston there are two actual loops around the city and they use the terms differently.

Yeah, I have lived in the DC area over 30 years and always understood this.

My brother lives in Houston and I remember when they constructed the "outer loop" there and I kept getting confused when they started talking about the outer loop being another roadway completely. It was brief, but it took a couple of visits for it to sink in and not have my instinctive reaction be that they were talking about the two sides of the same road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Outer Counter.

Easy.

Thanks, maybe this time I'll remember it.
I've been here since 2002 (but didn't drive until years later), and this information has refused to sink in. Must be the same part of my brain that's affected by dyscalculia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But 495 is North/South.... so doesn't that affect which loop you are in?

The fact that you think a road that is a CIRCLE always goes north/south may be part of the problem. Yeesh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the confusing part about the usage of outer loop vs inner loop is that those phrases suggest that there are two loops. But there is really just one, and you are either on the outer part of it going counterclockwise, or the inner part of it going clockwise.

That's exactly why I had so much trouble. In Houston there are two actual loops around the city and they use the terms differently.

Yeah, and we know Houston is what we should emulate when it comes to transportation planning. /s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But 495 is North/South.... so doesn't that affect which loop you are in?

This is I-495/I-95, e.g. the Capitol Beltway.



It doesn't exclusively go North/South, even if the road designations only say North/South.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the confusing part about the usage of outer loop vs inner loop is that those phrases suggest that there are two loops. But there is really just one, and you are either on the outer part of it going counterclockwise, or the inner part of it going clockwise.

That's exactly why I had so much trouble. In Houston there are two actual loops around the city and they use the terms differently.

That is a fair point. There are a few cities with an inner and outer beltway or ring road, which is different than loops, which are on the same road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But 495 is North/South.... so doesn't that affect which loop you are in?

This is I-495/I-95, e.g. the Capitol Beltway.



It doesn't exclusively go North/South, even if the road designations only say North/South.

This is the only part of the beltway that doesn't make sense to me! The inner/outer loop part always made intuitive sense.

At least it was all clearer than in LA where traffic reports often refer to highways by their names, not their numbers but the numbers are what you see on the maps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But 495 is North/South.... so doesn't that affect which loop you are in?

This is I-495/I-95, e.g. the Capitol Beltway.



It doesn't exclusively go North/South, even if the road designations only say North/South.

The road designations don’t only say North/South. I’ve lived off Connecticut my whole life and the designations there are East to Silver Spring/Baltimore and West to Northern Virginia/Frederick (via 270).

It was even more confusing years ago when the whole highway was just 495, now the eastern half is 95 and the western half is 495.

I’ve never had a problem knowing what loop I’m on or which one they’re talking about on the traffic report, because where I’m from is barely outside DC so I always know where DC is relative to where the Beltway is.