Within the Commonwealth of Virginia, Interstate 95 runs 179 miles (288 km) between its borders with Maryland and North Carolina. I-95 is concurrent with I-64 for 3 miles (4.8 km) in Richmond, and meets the northern terminus of I-85 in Petersburg. Although I-95 was originally planned as a highway through Washington, D.C., it was rerouted along the eastern portion of the Capital Beltway. From Petersburg to Richmond, I-95 was most of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike (the south end of the toll road was on I-85.)

The point where it enters the Capital Beltway, the Springfield Interchange, is one of the busiest interchanges in the United States. I-95 continues into Maryland along the Beltway over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.

Interstate 95 continues the pattern of being a four-lane highway from North Carolina. The welcome center forbids trucks, but truck stops at the first two interchanges provides a substitute place for truckers to stay before reaching Emporia. North of here, I-95 and US 301 are often intertwined with each other as they encounter interchanges with Virginia Secondary State Routes. In the Owens-Stony Creek area in Sussex County, the road not only runs parallel to US 301 but shares bridges with I-95, many of which have access to Route 301 from connecting roads. This pattern ends at Exit 33 at the corner of a fairly popular truck stop and travel center. Crossing the Sussex-Prince George County Line, the first site along I-95 is another rest area that also serves as the Petersburg Area Tourist Information Center. The road makes a slight northeast turn between Carson and Templeton, then turns straight north again before approaching the south end of Interstate 295 just before crossing the southern border of the City of Petersburg at Exit 47. A series of frontage roads connecting the interchanges with US 460, US 301 and the northern terminus of Interstate 85. Immediately after the interchange with Interstate 85, remnants of the former toll booths for the Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike can be found.

North of Petersburg, I-95 crosses the Appomattox River and enters the City of Colonial Heights and then Chesterfield County. Pocahontas Parkway and an extraordinarily high Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge over I-95 and the James River just south of the Richmond City Limits. A CSX railroad line runs parallel to the northbound lane in the vicinity of the Port of Richmond, and the Commerce Road Industrial Area, a region that includes an R.J. Reynolds office and an old bridge manufacturing plant. As I-95 itself crosses the James River, Main Street Station can be seen on the north bank, and the road winds around the station itself. The first interchange after it crosses the James River is the tolled State Route 195 and from there the road winds towards the multiplex with Interstate 64. I-64/95 curves to the northwest to cross under US 1/301, only to turn back north briefly, and curve northwest again, as it approaches VA 161. This pattern ends when I-64 turns west at the same interchange as the northern terminus of I-195. From here I-95 curves back to the northeast and has two interchanges with US 1, and later US 301 separately, the latter of which has separate carriageways on both side of I-95. Another interchange with Interstate 295 exists in Glen Allen. However, I-295 does not terminate there, and the south-to-eastbound and west-to-northbound off-ramps between the two can be accessed in the medians of both roads.

Throughout much of central Virginia, I-95 climbs a series of hills, and contains wide tree-lined medians. Near mile marker 100 in Doswell, signs for the Kings Dominion amusement park are blended in with standard destination signs. US 17 multiplexes with I-95 from Massaponax to Falmouth. The wide tree-line divider resumes north of here. At Exit 143 in Aquia, the northbound off and on ramps connect directly to US 1, even though the interchange is specifically for VSR 610. Crossing over the Chopawamsic Creek takes I-95 through the Quantico Marine Base, which includes restrictive interchanges. Northbound, the bi-directional HOV lane begins, and runs through the center of I-95 through most of the rest of its journey toward DC.

Further north in Prince William County, there are four rest areas; two for trucks in Dumfries, and two for cars in Dale City. The truck rest areas, with weigh stations, are near Exit 152. The car rest areas have uniquely positioned entrance and exit ramps. The southbound car rest area, near Exit 156, is accessible only from the southbound collective-distributor road. In Lorton, a scissor interchange exists with US 1, and shortly after this Lorton Auto Train Station is conveniently located near Exit 163. Due to public opposition of efforts to build I-95 through Washington D.C. and College Park, Maryland, I-95 is diverted onto a multiplex with Interstate 495 at the Springfield Interchange. I-95/495 trudge east through Franconia, over the WMATA Blue Line and Rose Hill. At Huntington, I-95/495 run under the WMATA Yellow Line, and through Alexandria before crossing the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Maryland.

Interstate 95 extends the twin-lane barrier-separated HOV Lanes that begin on I-395 at the 14th Street Bridge in Washington. These lanes have been extended several times, most recently to just south of Woodbridge.

As part of the Quantico Creek bridge rebuilding project, a currently unused three-lane 300-foot (91 m) long bridge was constructed in the median just south of the southern HOV terminus for use if and when the HOV facilities are extended. It was previously used as a detour bridge and retains its lane striping from such use.

The new I-95 HOV/HOT lanes project will create approximately 29 miles (47 km) of HOV/HOT lanes on I-95 from Garrisonville Road in Stafford County to the vicinity of Edsall Road on I-395 in Fairfax County and includes: Constructing two new reversible HOV/HOT lanes for 9 miles (14 km) from Route 610/Garrisonville Road in Stafford County to Route 234 in Dumfries, where the existing HOV lanes begin. Widening the existing HOV lanes from two lanes to three lanes for 14 miles (23 km) from the Prince William Parkway to approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the Springfield Interchange in the vicinity of Edsall Road. Making improvements to the existing two HOV lanes for 6 miles (9.7 km) from Route 234 to the Prince William Parkway. Adding new or improved access points in the areas of Garrisonville Road, Joplin Road, Prince William Parkway, Fairfax County Parkway, Franconia-Springfield Parkway, I-495 and in the vicinity of Edsall Road. The new HOV/HOT lanes project will no longer include the originally planned construction of 6 miles (9.7 km) of HOV/HOT lanes on I-395 in Alexandria or Arlington County or upgrades to key interchanges at Shirlington and Eads Street in Arlington County. Those lanes will continue to be restricted to HOV, transit, eligible hybrids and motorcycles during rush hours. However, VDOT is advancing plans to construct a new ramp at I-395 and Seminary Road for the Mark Center, concurrent with the HOV/HOT lanes project. The ramp will be open to HOV and transit only. Construction on the ramp could begin as early as 2012.VDOT will also expand park-and-ride lots and fund other local transit improvements to maximize the benefit of the new HOV/HOT lanes network. Construction of the 14-mile HOT lanes project on I-495 is more than 50 percent complete and the lanes will open to traffic by early 2013. VDOT is also advancing studies to support the ultimate extension of HOV/HOT lanes on I-95 south of Route 610 into Spotsylvania County.

Fairfax County

Along the Capital Beltway

As was common in other states, the present Interstate 95 routing in Virginia utilized pre-existing expressways and turnpikes. As sections opened, the existing sequential exit numbering was not modified; as a result, traveling from an old turnpike onto a new section of pavement (or vice versa) resulted in a jump in exit numbers up or down. For instance, when entering from the south the section of I-95 previously signed only as the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike, the exit number jumped from 13 to 2. Similarly, when traveling from the Turnpike onto a new section of I-95 north of it, the exit number jumped from 17 to 35. One result of this was that a driver traveling from border to border in the state on the same Interstate routing would encounter three Exit 2s before leaving.

In the late 1980s, VDOT undertook a major redesignating of exit numbers throughout the state from the haphazard sequential system to the mileage-based scheme used today.

In 2010, volume at Newington, northbound, from 6-9 am, is about 8,800 vehicles in the two HOV lanes, 18,300 vehicles in the three lanes with no restriction.