Interstate 805 California

Looking north from the Roscoe Hazard Bridge, which carries Adams Avenue over I-805, at Mission Valley and the multi level interchange with Interstate 8. 04/14/05

Overview

Interstate 805, the Jacob Dekema Freeway, is a well traveled route serving the inland communities within the cities of San Diego, National City, and Chula Vista in San Diego County. The commuter freeway connects the border zone with the homes of Eastlake and the light industry of Sorrento Valley.

Much of the Inland Freeway is eight lanes wide, and eight miles of new high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes opened to traffic in March 2014 between East Naples Street in Chula Vista and California State Route 94 in San Diego. The I-805 South Express Lanes Project converts the HOV lanes to tolled lanes, allowing single occupant vehicles to use the carpool lane for a variable toll rate. The Interstate 805 Corridor plan calls for extending the carpool lanes northward to I-5 and south to SR 905.

Route Information

North End – San Diego, CA
South End – San Diego, CA
Mileage – 28.02
Cities – San Diego, National City, Chula Vista
Junctions –

Source: December 31, 2021 Interstate Route Log and Finders List

I-805 Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT)

Source: 2017 Traffic Volumes: Route 505 – 980 Caltrans

History

Much of Interstate 805 was constructed from the late 1960s to 1975 along what was a largely rural route at that time. There was no original U.S. or state route along its route. However, with the explosion of development in Chula Vista and San Diego, the freeway now provides access to thousands of homeowners. The only portion of Interstate 805 to pass through land that was already extensively developed at the time of construction was through Mission Valley and Mid-City. A towering bridge leads the freeway across Mission Valley, while it follows the historic boundary between San Diego and East San Diego, which today are both part of San Diego. Boundary Street, the former dividing line, now acts as a frontage road for portions of I-805 between SR 94 and I-8.

Construction at the north end of I-805 improved the interchange where the Inland Freeway converges with Interstate 5. Underway from March 2002 through Fall 2007, this $176 million project expanded the exchange to a dual freeway configuration with truck bypass lanes, high occupancy vehicle lanes, and connections to SR 56.¹ The northbound local bypass lanes were finished in early 2006, followed by opening of the southbound local bypass in Spring 2007.

Photo Guides

Interstate 805 California

North End – Sorrento Valley, San Diego, California

North at

Exit 27B departs I-805 north to Sorrento Valley Road ahead of the wye interchange with Interstate 5. 03/24/06

Traffic partitions at the north end of I-805 for I-5 northbound directly and local bypass lanes to Carmel Mountain Road (Exit 32) and SR 56 (Exit 33A). 03/24/06

I-805 joins I-5 northbound ahead of Carmel Valley Road and Solana Beach. Prior to 1999, there was an end shield for I-805. It was removed at the beginning of the construction for the carpool/HOV lanes. 03/24/06

South at

Advancing south through Carmel Valley to the split with I-805 on Interstate 5. I-805 provides a bypass of Downtown San Diego, however it can be as busy or even more so than southbound I-5 during commuting hours. 08/01/08

Heavily traveled sections of I-805 in the afternoon include the segments from Sorrento Valley Road/Mira Mesa Boulevard south to Mission Valley and again from SR 94 south to Chula Vista. Much of this traffic increase is a function of the huge job base in Sorrento Valley (I-5/805) and the housing developments in Chula Vista. 08/01/08

Left Exit 31 separates from I-5 (San Diego Freeway) south for Interstate 805 (Dekema Freeway) south to Mission Valley and Chula Vista. 08/01/08

Local Bypass Lanes – South at

The local bypass lanes of I-5 extend south from the west end of SR 56 (Ted Williams Freeway) to Carmel Mountain Road (Exit 32) and Interstate 805 (Exit 31). 09/01/07

The major widening project expanding I-5 south from SR 56 to I-805 into a dual freeway was completed by 2007. A massive fill on the west side was required to accommodate expansion of the I-5 southbound lanes. 09/01/07

A two lane flyover links the I-5 local bypass lanes with Interstate 805 at the wye interchange between the two freeways. 09/01/07

North End Throwback

North at

Former overhead referencing the I-805 transition to I-5 at the exchange with Sorrento Valley Road / Mira Mesa Boulevard. 12/09/01

Interstate 805 north at I-5 prior to reconstruction eliminating weaving traffic north to SR 56. 12/09/01

South at

Interstate 5 south approaching the split with I-805 during early stages of the widening project. 06/15/03

Replaced button copy sign for Interstate 5 preceding the split with I-805 (Inland Freeway) south. 06/15/03

Some of the first reflective signs erected in San Diego County, signs for I-805 south at the split from I-5 were replaced in 1999. Both signs were replaced as part of the Local Bypass project in 2007, and a new bridge was built over the split for the local bypass connection to southbound I-805. 2000

South End – San Ysidro, San Diego, California

South at

Interstate 805 concludes 0.6 miles south of the San Ysidro Boulevard under crossing at a wye interchange with I-5 south. 07/10/16

Four lanes span the I-5 mainline along I-805 south to Exit 1A for Camino de la Plaza and the freeway end. 07/18/04

Camino de la Plaza wraps around the San Ysidro community from a parclo interchange (Exit 1A) with Interstate 5. The boulevard connects with Las Americas Premium Outlets and other border shops, various parking areas, a transit center and the pedestrian walkway into Mexico. 07/18/04

Interstate 805 ends a quarter mile north of the San Ysidro port of entry along I-5 south to Tijuana, Mexico. A last U-turn for I-5 north departs from the left side of the freeway end. 11/10/20

Exit 1A partitions from the I-805 for Camino de la Plaza and the San Ysidro retail area. Beyond the international border, the roadway extending from I-5 quickly disperses traffic onto a series of off-ramps to various surface roads in Tijuana. 07/18/04

North at

Traffic from the port of entry/customs station from Tijuana, Mexico, the last U-turn from I-5 southbound, and the entrance ramp from San Ysidro Boulevard combines below Camino de la Plaza and 0.2 miles from the I-5/805 split. 07/09/18

Heading northwest from I-805 toward San Diego Bay and Downtown, Interstate 5 (Montgomery Freeway) commences with four northbound lanes. 07/09/18

Interstate 805 initially begins with two lanes northbound, but quickly expands to four lanes ahead of SR 905 (Otay Mesa Freeway). 11/10/20

The first confirming marker for Interstate 805 precedes Exit 1A to San Ysidro Boulevard (historic U.S. 101). There are few stand alone shields posted along the Inland Freeway overall. 07/09/18

South End Throwback

These button copy guide signs at Camino de la Plaza were replaced in kind with reflective overheads. Newer assemblies for I-805 reference Chula Vista as the control city for the Jacob Dekema Freeway. 09/01/03

North at the wye interchange where I-5/805 split. Sign changes made here added San Diego in place of Downtown for I-5 and removed the unused part of the panel for I-805, reflecting the permanent closure of the outside lanes. The two routes rejoin in the northern San Diego neighborhood of Sorrento Valley. 09/01/03

Sources:

I-5/I-805 Widening Project. Caltrans, fact sheet. January 2006.

Page updated November 11, 2020.