Named the Jacob Dekema Freeway after the longtime head of the regional division of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), I-805 has been frequently cited for its complex engineering and architecture, including near I-8 on the Mission Valley Viaduct.

As it starts its journey northwards, it quickly has a junction with State Route 905 (SR 905) before exiting the city of San Diego and entering Chula Vista.

[4] Just outside the city, I-805 meets County Route S17 (CR S17), also named Bonita Road, before coming to an interchange with SR 54.

[3] I-805 continues northward through San Diego, where it intersects SR 94, the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway.

It then intersects El Cajon Boulevard before passing under the Hazard Memorial Bridge that carries Adams Avenue.

[3] The bridge was named after Roscoe Hazard for his involvement in the construction of several roads and highways in Southern California.

Passing under the Eastgate Mall arch bridge and entering Sorrento Valley, it finally meets its north end at I-5.

[15] This was to be the first freeway in the area with no prior road along its route that it would replace; the goal was to provide a bypass around San Diego for those traveling to Mexico, and improve access for local residents.

By June, houses along the route in the North Park area were being sold, as the land was needed for the first stretch of the freeway to be constructed.

[16] The next year, Dekema confirmed that the first portion of what was known as the Inland Freeway to be built would be between Home and Adams avenues.

[22] Construction had begun on the viaduct by May 1969;[23] in the meantime, National City was making plans for developing the freeway corridor with motels and restaurants, as well as a shopping center.

[26] Construction from J Street south to near San Ysidro was underway by September, when there were concerns that an order from President Richard Nixon to reduce federal construction projects by 75 percent might affect funding for the portion north of Friars Road.

However, Governor Ronald Reagan lifted the associated freeze in construction at the state level a few weeks later.

[37] Following this, the city of Chula Vista asked that the state proceed with the original plans to construct the freeway, even though it would pass through a San Ysidro neighborhood.

[43] A 102-home mobile home park was approved by the City Council a few weeks later to house those who were displaced by the freeway construction.

[48] Following a request from the El Cajon City Council,[49] March 19 was set aside as a Community Cycle Day for bicyclists to travel the newly finished freeway from El Cajon Boulevard to SR 52, just before the freeway was to be dedicated the next day;[50] during the event, around 30 people had injured themselves, and police estimated that some bicyclists had attained speeds of up to 60 mph (97 km/h) traveling down the hill leading to the Mission Valley Viaduct.

As the scheduled completion of the freeway neared, Mayor Tom Hamilton of Chula Vista expressed concerns regarding the predicted development of the I-805 corridor, and the decisions that the City Council would need to make regarding such plans.

[60] The Mission Valley Viaduct was recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as the "Outstanding Civil Engineering Project for 1973 in the San Diego Area"; it was designed to match the close by Mission San Diego de Alcalá with its columns that look similar to cathedral windows,[61] and arch-like shapes etched into the textured concrete.

[66] Awards for the Eastgate Mall (or Old Miramar Bridge) came from the Federal Highway Administration, San Diego Highway Development Association, and Prestressed Concrete Institute Awards Program; at the time, it was one of the first arch bridges in the state, and did not use traditional concrete pillars.

[61] The San Diego Union (predecessor to the Union-Tribune) published a few freelance articles in 1984 about I-805, complimenting the four-level interchange with I-8 and the arch bridge at Eastgate Mall, while mentioning that subsequent inflation after their completion would have made such structures more difficult to build if they had been constructed later.

Other artwork and architecture that was mentioned included the Wateridge development in Sorrento Valley, and the "Stargazer" building by Alexander Liberman that was lit with fluorescent colors at night.

[6] That year, a three-year project began to allow robot controlled vehicles, including buses and trucks, to use a special lane.

[82] In 2010, Caltrans proposed adding high-occupancy toll express lanes between SR 15 and East Palomar Street in Chula Vista.

[83] The California Transportation Commission (CTC) awarded $100 million for the work in June 2011, which would be split into two phases at the interchange with SR 54.

[84] Work is also underway to add two HOV lanes between SR 52 and Mira Mesa Boulevard; this project also received $59.5 million from the CTC in September 2011.

[86] In February 2013, construction began on the northern HOV lanes; the project came at a cost $86 million.

Plans exist to construct the 11-mile gap between SR 94 and Governor Drive have been put on hold until there are enough funds to widen the freeway and replace any necessary overpasses.