How Busy Is the A1(M), Stretch by Stretch?

Which part of the A1(M) carries the most traffic? The Department for Transport measures the road at 86 count points. Once slip roads are set aside and duplicate entries are counted once, they give 45 main-line measurements across the four motorway sections. The table ranks them all, busiest first.

Stretch	Vehicles a day	Counted or estimated
J43 to J44 (after the M1 joins)	142,783	Counted
J44 to J45	109,039	Counted
J8 to J9	93,845	Estimated
J64 to J65	92,444	Estimated
J63 to J64	91,500	Estimated
J36 to J37	91,038	Estimated
J3 to J4	90,181	Counted
J35 to J36	86,982	Estimated
J45 to J46	86,149	Estimated
J47 to J48	85,818	Counted
J16 to J17	84,283	Counted
J4 to J5	84,148	Counted
J6 to J7	83,782	Counted
J48 to J49	82,350	Counted
J46 to J47	81,909	Counted
J37 to J38	79,360	Estimated
J14 to J16	75,975	Counted
J61 to J62	74,602	Counted
J5 to J6	73,375	Estimated
J1 to J2	73,025	Counted
J7 to J8	71,265	Counted
J53 to J56	69,459	Counted
J62 to J63	69,398	Estimated
J51 to J52	68,276	Estimated
J40 to J41	67,876	Estimated
J56 to J57	67,138	Estimated
J41 to J42	65,075	Counted
J65 to the A1	64,710	Estimated
J60 to J61	64,569	Counted
A1 to the start of the motorway at J14	63,915	Counted
J52 to J53	61,570	Counted
J49 to J50	59,112	Counted
J2 to J3	59,066	Estimated
J58 to J59	57,127	Estimated
J34 to J35	55,811	Estimated
Through J53	55,476	Estimated
J50 to J51	54,826	Estimated
J42 to J43	54,607	Counted
J59 to J60	53,973	Estimated
Through J52	53,900	Counted
A1 to the M25 at J1	49,183	Estimated
J9 to J10	49,176	Estimated
Through J51	49,077	Counted
J57 to J58	44,487	Estimated
J17 to the A1 at Orton Southgate	34,347	Counted

“Through” rows are counts on the main carriageway between a junction’s own slip roads, where the Department for Transport measures the road inside the junction.

What the ranking shows

One stretch stands alone. Between Junctions 43 and 44, near Bramham, the A1(M) carries 142,783 vehicles a day — about a third more than anywhere else on the road. The M1 ends just south of here and merges into the A1(M) at Junction 43, so this is the first stretch to carry both. Immediately before the merge, between Junctions 42 and 43, the count is 54,607. For how the two motorways meet, see the A1(M) and M1 link roads.

Hertfordshire is busy but uneven. Junctions 8 to 9 between Stevenage and Letchworth reach 93,845, and Junctions 3 to 4 at Hatfield 90,181, yet Junctions 2 to 3 record 59,066 and Junctions 9 to 10 fall to 49,176 as the motorway approaches its northern end at Baldock.

Tyneside rises again. The last miles, Junctions 63 to 65 around Chester-le-Street and Washington, pass 90,000 a day, higher than anything in North Yorkshire.

The quietest full stretch is Junctions 57 to 58 at Darlington, 44,487 a day, just after traffic for Darlington and Teesside has left on the A66(M).

Duplicates and what we left out

Where a stretch has two or more count points with different figures, we publish the busiest. The others are: 81,289 at Junction 6; 35,262 at the Junction 10 end; 77,019 between Junctions 37 and 38; 63,273 and 61,915 between Junctions 41 and 42; 83,481 between Junctions 45 and 46; 50,755 near Dishforth, beyond the spur towards the A168; and 52,567 between Junctions 49 and 50.

Twenty-four rows are left out because they are slip roads, spurs or junction links rather than the main line. They are at Junctions 42, 44, 49, 51, 52 and 64. The largest are the split carriageways at Junction 44, the A64 junction, recorded at 97,538 and 36,606, and a 48,545 link at Junction 42.

For where the lorries are, see A1(M) lorry and freight traffic. For the headline figures, see A1(M) traffic statistics.

Traffic count figures on this page are from the Department for Transport road traffic statistics, 2025.