The last stretch of the A1(M) runs through County Durham, from the A66(M) for Darlington past Durham and Chester-le-Street to Washington, ending at Junction 65 at Birtley. Reports for this stretch are shown below.

The junctions on this stretch

• Junction 57 — the A66(M) for Darlington and Teesside, a part junction.
• Junction 58 — the A68 for Darlington, Bishop Auckland and Corbridge.
• Junction 59 — the A167 for Newton Aycliffe.
• Junction 60 — the A689 for Bishop Auckland, Hartlepool and Teesside.
• Junction 61 — the A688 for Spennymoor and the A177 for Peterlee, with Durham services.
• Junction 62 — the A690 for Durham and Sunderland, and the A691 for Consett.
• Junction 63 — the A167 for Chester-le-Street and the A693 for Stanley.
• Junction 64 — the A195 for Washington and Birtley. Washington services is between here and Junction 65.
• Junction 65, Birtley — the A1231 for Sunderland and Washington, and the A194(M) for the Tyne Tunnel and South Shields. The A1(M) ends here.

The oldest northern miles

This is the original northern motorway, built long before the Yorkshire sections: Junctions 56 to 59 around Darlington opened in 1965, Junctions 59 to 63 in 1969 and Junctions 63 to 65 in 1970.

How busy is this stretch?

A1(M) Junctions 57 to 65 — Darlington to Washington: vehicles a day, stretch by stretch

Stretch	All vehicles	Lorries	Share lorries
J56 to J57	67,138	7,833	11.7%
J57 to J58	44,487	6,744	15.2%
J58 to J59	57,127	6,486	11.4%
J59 to J60	53,973	6,339	11.7%
J60 to J61	64,569	6,351	9.8%
J61 to J62	74,602	7,084	9.5%
J62 to J63	69,398	6,381	9.2%
J63 to J64	91,500	6,497	7.1%
J64 to J65	92,444	6,332	6.8%
J65 to the A1	64,710	4,433	6.9%

© A1MTraffic.co.uk · Statistics from the Department for Transport

Traffic falls to its lowest on the northern A1(M), 44,487, just after the A66(M) leaves at Junction 57. From Durham it climbs again, passing 90,000 between Chester-le-Street and Washington. Several stretches here are recorded at two or three count points with identical figures, shown once. A 24,476 link to the A195 at Junction 64 is left out.

After Junction 65

North of Birtley the road becomes the A1 again, running as the Gateshead and Newcastle Western Bypass towards Newcastle and Northumberland. See A1 traffic news and the A1 route guide. For the A66 and A194(M), see Traffic News England. Soon after the motorway ends, drivers heading north pass the Angel of the North, Antony Gormley’s steel sculpture standing beside the A1 at Gateshead.

Previous: Junctions 47 to 56. All sections: A1(M) maps.

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