I-195, which is also known as Metropolitan Boulevard, is the main connection between the airport terminal and highways leading to Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Annapolis, including I-95, MD 295, and I-97.

I-195 also links I-95 with Catonsville and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), via a westward continuation of Metropolitan Boulevard that is part of MD 166.

I-195 heads southeast as a four-lane freeway with a speed limit of 60 mph (97 km/h) across CSX Transportation's Baltimore Terminal Subdivision railroad line and meets US 1 at a four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange.

The highway crosses over I-895 (Harbor Tunnel Thruway) with no access and curves south on a viaduct to cross the Patapsco River, where the freeway passes from Baltimore County to Anne Arundel County, and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor railroad line, which also carries MARC Train's Penn Line.

[2][3] I-195 curves southeast and passes under the BWI Trail ahead of its partial cloverleaf interchange with MD 170 (Aviation Boulevard), also known as the Airport Loop.

The circumferential highway also provides indirect access to I-97 for traffic heading to Annapolis or the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

[8][12] The freeway was extended to its present terminus at Rolling Road and the ramps to UMBC Boulevard were constructed in 1975.

[21] In 2002, as part of an expansion project at the airport, several ramps were constructed, providing access to parking lots and facilitating an easier U-turn for motorists who were leaving the terminal but wished to return.