Skip to main content

Interstate 805

Recently while visiting the San Diego Area I drove a portion of Interstate 805 in northern San Diego to California State Route 163.


I-805 is a 28 mile spur route of I-5 which begins in northern San Diego and ends near the Mexican Border in the southern extent of the City in San Ysidro.  I-805 was approved as a chargeable Interstate in 1958 and was added to State Highway System as Legislative Route Number 241 in 1959 according to CAhighways.org.

CAhighways.org on I-805

The planned route of I-805 on LRN 241 first appears on the 1960 State Highway City Insert.

1960 State Highway Map City Insert

According to CAhighways.org construction of I-805 began in 1966 and was completed by 1975.  The 1970 State Highway Map City Insert shows I-805 under construction between CA 274 south to CA 15 (future CA 15) and in Chula Vista.

1970 State Highway Map City Insert

I-805 is shown as fully completed on the 1975 State Highway Map City Insert.

1975 State Highway Map City Insert

My approach to I-805 was on southbound I-5 in northern San Diego.  I-805 is known as the "Jacob Dekema Freeway" and was named after a long term Division of Highways/Caltrans engineer who served from 1938 to 1980.




Signage on I-805 south indicates I-8 is 10 miles away and the International Border on I-5 as 30 miles away.


Exit numbers on I-805 descend starting from Exit 27 at Mira Mesa Boulevard/Sorrento Valley Road.


Many freeways in San Diego including I-805 contain somewhat ornate modern bridge designs such as the Eastgate Mall overpass.



Exit 25B on I-805 south accesses Miramar Road and La Jolla Village Drive.


Exit 24 on I-805 south accesses Governor Road.


The first major junction on I-805 south is at Exit 23 which accesses CA 52/San Clemente Canyon Freeway.




Exit 22 on I-805 south accesses Clairemont Mesa Boulevard.


At Exit 21 I-805 south accesses Balboa Avenue which is former CA 274.  All of CA 274 was deleted in 1999 and relinquished by 2001.


At Exit 20 I-805 meets former US 395 on CA 163/Cabrillo Freeway.  I turned south on CA 163 and headed towards downtown San Diego.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l

Ghost Town Tuesday; Mannfield, FL and the stairway to Hell

Back in 2015 I went searching the Lecanto Sand Hills for the original Citrus County Seat known as Mannfield.  Unlike Centrailia in Hernando County and Fivay in Pasco County I did find something worth seeing. Mannfield is located in the Lecanto Sand Hill section of Withlacoochee State Forest somewhat east of the intersection of Citrus County Route 491 and Mansfield Road. Mannfield was named after Austin Mann and founded in Hernando County in 1884 before Citrus County Split away.  In 1887 Citrus County was split from northern Hernando County while Pasco County was spun off to the south.  Mannfield was selected as the new Citrus County seat due to it being near the county geographic center.  Reportedly Mannfield had as many as 250 people when it was the County Seat.  The town included various businesses one might include at the time, even a sawmill which was common for the area.  In 1891 Citrus County voted to move it's seat to Inverness which set the stage for the decline of M

The National Road - Pennsylvania - Great Crossings Bridge and Somerfield

West of Addison, US 40 crosses the Youghiogheny River at what once was the town of Somerfield.  When crossing the current modern two lane bridge, you many not realize that it is actually the third to cross the Yough at this site.  The first - a stone arch bridge - was known as the Great Crossings Bridge.  Built in 1818, this three arch bridge was part of the original National Road.  The name Great Crossings comes from the men who forded the Youghiogheny here - George Washington and George Braddock. (1)  If you cross the bridge at the right time, this historic bridge and what was once the town of Somerfield will appear out from underneath this massive man-made lake. Historical Postcard showing the 'Big Crossings' bridge and Somerfield.  Image submitted by Vince Ferrari. The Great Crossings Bridge was located in the town of Somerfield.  Somerfield, originally named Smythfield until 1827, would develop as a result of the National Road. (1)  Somerfield would go through va