# A1(M) motorway

A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in the UK. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The first section, the Doncaster Bypass, opened in 1961 and is one of the oldest sections of motorway in Britain. Construction of a new section of A1(M) between Leeming and Barton was completed on 29 March 2018, a year later than the anticipated opening in 2017 due to extensive archaeological excavations. Its completion linked the Barton to Washington section with the Darrington to Leeming Bar section, forming the longest A1(M) section overall and reducing the number of sections from five to four.
In 2015, a proposal was made by three local government organisations to renumber as M1 the section of A1(M) between Micklefield and Washington, making this section a northern extension of the M1.

## Overview

Most of the English section of the A1 is a series of alternating sections of primary route, dual carriageway and motorway. From Newcastle upon Tyne to Edinburgh it is a trunk road with alternating sections of dual and single carriageway. The table below summarises the road as motorway and non-motorway sections. Most of the non-motorway sections do not have junction numbers, with the exception of the Newcastle Western Bypass which continues the junction numbering of the A1(M).
| Road name | Junctions | Length | Length | Ceremonial counties | Primary destinations |
| Road name | Junctions | miles | km | Ceremonial counties | Primary destinations |
| A1 | | 16.58 | 26.68 | London Hertfordshire | London Edgware, Barnet, Borehamwood |
| A1(M) | 1–10 | 24.14 | 38.84 | Hertfordshire | Hertford Stevenage |
| A1 | | 26.25 | 42.24 | Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire | Bedford, Cambridge, Huntingdon |
| A1(M) | 13–17 | 12.84 | 20.66 | Cambridgeshire | Peterborough |
| A1 | | 72.99 | 117.44 | Cambridgeshire, Rutland Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire | Stamford, Grantham Newark on Trent |
| A1(M) | 34–38 | 15.13 | 24.34 | South Yorkshire | Worksop, Blyth, Doncaster, Rotherham, Barnsley |
| A1 | | 7.51 | 12.08 | South Yorkshire West Yorkshire | Pontefract, Castleford, Wakefield |
| A1(M) | 40–65 | 93.27 | 150.10 | West Yorkshire North Yorkshire County Durham Tyne and Wear | Selby, Leeds, York, Wetherby, Harrogate, Thirsk, Ripon, Catterick, Richmond, Scotch Corner, Darlington, Teesside, Bishop Auckland, Durham, Chester-le-Street, Stanley, Beamish, Birtley, Washington (Sunderland), Gateshead |
| A1 | 65-80 (Newcastle Western Bypass only) | 128.29 | 206.42 | Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, Berwickshire East Lothian, Edinburgh | Gateshead, Blaydon, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Cramlington, Morpeth, Alnwick, Belford, Lindisfarne, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Eyemouth, Dunbar, Haddington, Tranent, Prestonpans, Musselburgh, Edinburgh |
| | | 397.00 | 638.78 | | |
From London to Sunderland, 123.33 miles (198.48 km) of the route are non-motorway while the remaining 145.38 miles (233.97 km) are to motorway standards.
The motorway sections are discussed below.

## South Mimms to Stotfold

This section opened in stages:
* Junctions 1 to 2 opened in 1979
* Junctions 2 to 4 opened in 1986
* Junctions 4 to 6 opened in 1973
* Junctions 6 to 8 opened in 1962
* Junctions 8 to 10 opened in 1967

### Junctions

A1(M) motorway junctions :
| Southbound exits (B carriageway) | Junction | Northbound exits (A carriageway) |
| Road continues as A1 to Central London | J1 Services | M25 (M1) Watford, Stansted , Potters Bar, South Mimms Services Non-motorway traffic |
| M25 (M1) Heathrow , Watford, Stansted , Potters Bar Barnet A1081 South Mimms services | J1 Services | Start of motorway |
| No Exit (Access slip road only) | J2 | Welham Green A1001 |
| St Albans A414 Welham Green A1001 | J3 | St Albans A414 Hatfield A1001 |
| Hatfield Tunnel | Tunnel | Hatfield Tunnel |
| Hertford A414 Hatfield A1001 Welwyn Garden City A6129 | J4 | Hertford A414 Welwyn Garden City A6129 |
| No Access or Exit | J5 | No Exit (Access slip road only) |
| Welwyn Garden City, Welwyn A1000 | J6 | Welwyn A1000 |
| Ware, Stevenage A602 | J7 | Stevenage A602 |
| Hitchin Stevenage (N) A602 | J8 | Hitchin Stevenage (N) A602 |
| Letchworth, Baldock A505 | J9 | Baldock, Letchworth A505 |
| Entering Hertfordshire | | Entering Bedfordshire |
| Start of motorway | J10 Services | Stotfold, Shefford A507 Baldock services |
| Baldock, Stotfold A507 Baldock Services Non-Motorway Traffic | J10 Services | Road continues as A1 to Alconbury The NORTH, Peterborough A1 |

## Alconbury to Peterborough

This section runs through the Cambridgeshire countryside between Alconbury and Peterborough. It was officially opened by Lord Whitty on 31 October 1998, and is the most isolated of the motorway sections as it connects with no other motorway. It is designed to a noticeably high standard, 8 miles (13 km) of it being four lanes from junction 14 at Alconbury to junction 16 at Norman Cross in each direction whilst the remainder has three lanes in each direction. It is managed by Road Management Services (Peterborough) under a DBFO contract with National Highways.

### Junctions

Following the rerouting of the A14 road in 2019 at Brampton Hut interchange this section needs review.
A1(M) motorway junctions :
| Southbound exits (B carriageway) | Junction | Northbound exits (A carriageway) |
| No Exit (Access slip road only) Road continues as A1 to Stotfold London (C & W) A1 | J14 | The Alconburys, The Stukeleys B1043 Non-motorway traffic |
| Huntingdon, St Ives (A 1307) | J14 | Start of motorway No Access to A14 |
| Sawtry B1043 | J15 | Sawtry B1043 Ramsey (B660) |
| Yaxley A15 Stilton (B1043) Ramsey (B660) | J16 | Yaxley A15 Stilton (B1043) |
| Start of motorway | J17 Services | Peterborough A1139 Wisbech (A47) Northampton, Oundle A605 Peterborough services |
| Peterborough A1139 Wisbech (A47) Northampton, Oundle A605 Peterborough services Non-motorway traffic | J17 Services | Road continues as A1 to Doncaster The NORTH, Stamford A1 |

## Doncaster By-Pass (Blyth to Skellow)

This 15-mile (24 km) section which runs from Skellow in South Yorkshire to the village of Blyth in the far north of Nottinghamshire first opened in 1961 and was one of the first sections of motorway to be built in Britain; it has two lanes in each direction. Between junction 36 and 37 the motorway crosses the River Don on the Don Bridge.

### Junctions

Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information.
A1(M) motorway junctions :
| km | Southbound exits (B carriageway) | Junction | Northbound exits (A carriageway) |
| 0.0 | Road continues as A1 to Peterborough The SOUTH, Newark A1 Nottingham (A614) | J34 Services | Bawtry A614 Doncaster Sheffield Non-motorway traffic Blyth services |
| 0.0 | Bawtry A614 Gainsborough (A631) Doncaster Sheffield Blyth services | J34 Services | Start of motorway |
| | Entering Nottinghamshire | | Entering South Yorkshire |
| 12.0 | M18 Sheffield (M1) Scunthorpe (M180) Doncaster Sheffield | J35 | Doncaster M18 Sheffield (M1) Scunthorpe (M180) Hull (M62) |
| 14.9 | Rotherham, Doncaster A630 | J36 | Rotherham, Doncaster A630 |
| 20.3 | Doncaster, Barnsley A635 | J37 | Doncaster, Barnsley A635 |
| 24.4 | Start of motorway | J38 | Wakefield A638 |
| 24.4 | Doncaster, Wakefield A638 Non-motorway traffic | J38 | Road continues as A1 to Darrington The NORTH A1 Leeds (M62) |

## Skellow to Darrington (proposed)

Proposals were made by a previous government to upgrade the Skellow to Darrington section of the A1 to motorway, meaning the entire stretch of A1 from Blyth in Nottinghamshire to Washington in Tyne and Wear would be motorway-standard road.

## Darrington to Washington

This section opened in sections:
* Walshford to 49 opened in 1995
* Junctions 43 to 44 opened in 1999
    When this section opened it ended at a temporary terminus south of the M1. There was a final exit into Micklefield Village for non-motorway traffic onto what is now the access road. During the first week of June 2009, junctions 44 and 45 were renumbered to 43 and 44. At the same time the existing A1/A659 Grange Moor junction became A1(M) junction 45. As a result many atlases show incorrect junction numbering for this stretch of motorway.
* Junction 46 to temporary junction at Walshford opened in 2005
* Junction 40 to south of 43 opened in 2005 and 2006
    The northern section of the upgrade, bypassing Fairburn village, opened to traffic in April 2005 with a temporary connection with the existing A1 between Fairburn and Brotherton. The southern section, with a free-flow interchange with the M62 motorway, opened to traffic on 13 January 2006.
* Junctions 44 to 46 opened in 2009
* Junctions 49 to 51 opened in 2011 and 2012
    Work began in March 2009 to upgrade the Dishforth to Leeming section to dual three-lane motorway standard with existing connections being replaced by two new junctions. The Dishforth to Baldersby Section (J49 to J50) was completed in October 2011 and the Baldersby to Leeming section (J50 to J51) was opened to traffic on 31 March 2012.
* Junctions 51 to 56 opened in 2017 and 2018 - there are no junctions 54 and 55
    Work on upgrading the Leeming Bar to Barton section to three-lane motorway began in April 2014. Work was expected to be completed by summer 2017. In early 2017, the Highways Agency announced that the full opening would be delayed until December 2017. In the end, the motorway opened up on 29 March 2018, making the A1 continuous motorway standard from Darrington, West Yorkshire, to Washington, Tyne and Wear, though residual works were still to be completed.
* Junctions 56 to 59 opened in 1965
* Junctions 59 to 63 opened in 1969
* Junctions 63 to 65 opened in 1970

### Junctions

Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information.
A1(M) motorway junctions :
| km | Southbound exits (B carriageway) | Junction | Northbound exits (A carriageway) |
| 36.5 | Road continues as A1 to Doncaster The SOUTH A1 Doncaster (A638) | J40 | Hull (M62) Pontefract A162 (A645) Non-motorway traffic Ferrybridge services |
| 36.5 | No access (on-ramp only) | J40 | Start of motorway |
| 41.1 | Hull, Manchester M62 Ferrybridge services | J41 | Manchester, Leeds M62 |
| | Entering West Yorkshire | | Entering North Yorkshire |
| 46.7 | Leeds, Selby A63 | J42 | Leeds, Selby A63 |
| | Entering North Yorkshire | | Entering West Yorkshire |
| | London, Leeds M1 Manchester (M62) | J43 | No access (on-ramp only) |
| | Entering West Yorkshire | | Entering North Yorkshire |
| 55.3 | York, Leeds (N) A64 | J44 | Leeds, York A64 |
| | Entering North Yorkshire | | Entering West Yorkshire |
| 57.2 | Wetherby A168 Otley A659 | J45 | Wetherby A168 Otley A659 |
| | Entering West Yorkshire | | Entering North Yorkshire |
| | York, Wetherby B1224 Wetherby services | J46 Services | Wetherby, York B1224 Wetherby services |
| 79.3 | York, Knaresborough, Harrogate, Leeds/Bradford A59 | J47 | Knaresborough, Harrogate, Leeds/Bradford , York A59 |
| 86.3 | Boroughbridge A6055 | J48 | Boroughbridge A6055 Ripon (B6265) Dishforth A168 |
| 95.2 | Thirsk A168 Teesside (A19) | J49 | Thirsk A168 Teesside (A19) |
| 102.8 | Ripon, Thirsk A61 | J50 | Ripon, Thirsk A61 |
| 119.9 | Northallerton, Leyburn A684 Bedale (B6285) | J51 | Northallerton, Bedale A6055 (A684) |
| | Catterick A6055 (A6136) | J52 | Catterick A6055 (A6136) |
| | Richmond A6055 (A6108) Penrith, Brough A66 Scotch Corner services | J53 | Richmond A6055 (A6108) Penrith, Brough A66 Scotch Corner services |
| | Piercebridge B6275 Barton | J56 | Piercebridge B6275 Barton |
| | No access (on-ramp only) | J57 | Darlington, Teesside, Teesside A66(M) |
| | Entering North Yorkshire | | Entering County Durham |
| | Corbridge, Darlington A68 | J58 | Darlington, Bishop Auckland, Corbridge A68 |
| | Newton Aycliffe, Darlington A167 | J59 | Newton Aycliffe A167 |
| | Bishop Auckland, Hartlepool, Teesside A689 | J60 | Bishop Auckland, Hartlepool, Teesside A689 |
| | Spennymoor, Bishop Auckland A688 Peterlee A177 Durham services | J61 Services | Spennymoor A688 Peterlee A177 Durham services |
| | Sunderland, Durham A690 Consett (A691) | J62 | Sunderland, Durham A690 Consett (A691) |
| | Chester-le-Street A167 Stanley A693 | J63 | Chester-le-Street A167 Stanley A693 |
| | Entering County Durham | | Entering Tyne and Wear |
| | Washington (S) A195 | J64 | Washington, Birtley A195 |
| | Washington services | Services | Washington services |
| | Start of motorway | J65 | Tyne Tunnel, South Shields A194(M) |
| | Sunderland, Washington A1231 Non-motorway traffic | J65 | Road continues as A1 to Edinburgh Newcastle, Gateshead A1 |