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Most state funeral processions in Washington have traveled down Constitution Avenue, like this one, for former president Ronald Reagan.

In Washington, D.C., Constitution Avenue is a major east-west street running just north of the United States Capitol in the city's Northwest and Northeast quadrants. The avenue carries heavy commuter traffic on weekdays and heavy tourist traffic on the weekends; it is also an important parade route.

L'Enfant plan showing canal

The segment of Constitution Avenue west of Pennsylvania Avenue was once the Washington Canal.

Construction on the canal, which was part of Pierre L'Enfant's original plan for the city, began in 1810. Tiber Creek was transformed into the Washington Canal which ran along what is today Constitution Avenue, eventually working its way towards the U.S. Capitol. It is believed that early city plans called for an extensive network of canals snaking through the Northeast corridor of the United States. In 1872 the canal was filled in; it had become common for residents of Washington, D.C. to throw their garbage into it and the unsanitary conditions became a health concern. Additionally, plans for an extensive canal system were abandoned around this time in favor of a railroad system that would connect Washington, D.C. to the West. These plans were not successful: the B&O Railroad was completed first and Washington, D.C. officials abandoned their plans for a rail system. The canal was filled and paved over.

In Washington's Cartesian-coordinate-based street system, Constitution Avenue was originally known as North B Street. If it had stayed in the city's lettered street system, it would today be known as B Street NW and NE. The street on the other side of the Anacostia River corresponding to Constitution Avenue is called Blaine Street NE.

Sections of Constitution Avenue are designated U.S. Route 1, U.S. Route 50, or both. Specifically, US 50 runs along the road from its west end to Sixth Street NW (eastbound) and Ninth Street NW (westbound). US 1 northbound uses the eastbound lanes of Constitution Avenue from 14th Street NW to Sixth Street NW; southbound US 1 used to run west from Ninth Street NW to 15th Street NW but now continues straight through the Ninth Street Tunnel to I-395.

The western terminus of Constitution Avenue is the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge; thus, Constitution Avenue connects the city's ceremonial core with Interstate 66. The eastern terminus is at 21st Street NE, just short of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. However, through traffic is diverted via North Carolina Avenue and C Street to the Whitney Young Memorial Bridge.

In Northwest, Constitution Avenue separates the National Mall from the Federal Triangle. Thus, the avenue is lined on its north side by the headquarters of several federal agencies and on the south side by several Smithsonian museums, the National Gallery of Art, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Constitution Gardens, Lincoln Memorial, and the east and west Reflecting Pools. Other locations of interest include the Embassy of Canada, Organization of American States, National Academy of Sciences, and National Science Foundation. In Northeast, the avenue passes through the Capitol Hill and Lincoln Park neighborhoods.

Between Louisiana Avenue and Interstate 66, Constitution Avenue is part of the National Highway System.