Motorway
M61 traffic and collisions
The M61 is a motorway of 24.8 miles, from Salford to Lancashire. This page covers its traffic at 13 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 799m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 88,269 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 153,012 J2 to J3
- HGV share 7.5% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +1.9% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 226 5.9 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the M61?
On an average day in 2025, 88,269 vehicles passed each point on the M61, counting both directions. The busiest section is J2 to J3 (Bolton), with 153,012 a day; the quietest listed is A580 to J2, with 26,196.
Busiest sections, 2025
J2 to J3 carries 1.7 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| J2 to J3 Bolton · 1.1 mi · HGVs 9.2% | 153,012 |
| J5 to J6 Bolton · 2.7 mi · HGVs 6.9% | 107,818 |
| J4 to J5 Bolton · 1.9 mi · HGVs 5.8% | 105,424 |
| J3 to J4 Bolton · 2.5 mi · HGVs 7.3% | 95,091 |
| J8 to J9 Lancashire · 3.6 mi · HGVs 7.0% | 87,781 |
| J6 to J8 Bolton, Lancashire · 8.1 mi · HGVs 7.8% | 82,359 |
| J9 to M6 Lancashire · 1.8 mi · HGVs 6.2% | 74,859 |
| A580 to J2 Salford · 1.4 mi · HGVs 11.0% | 26,196 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Salford to Lancashire · 24.8 miles
M61 traffic and collisions by section
8 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 4 short link roads and spurs (1.7 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A580 to J2Salford | 26,196 | 4 |
| 2 | J2 to J3Bolton | 153,012 | 25 |
| 3 | J3 to J4Bolton | 95,091 | 23 |
| 4 | J4 to J5Bolton | 105,424 | 15 |
| 5 | J5 to J6Bolton | 107,818 | 18 |
| 6 | J6 to J8Bolton, Lancashire | 82,359 | 58 |
| 7 | J8 to J9Lancashire | 87,781 | 41 |
| 8 | J9 to M6Lancashire | 74,859 | 20 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the M61 as the first road, placed on the nearest section by their recorded position; rates (per 100 million vehicle miles) are shown for sections of half a mile or more with 10 or more.
M61 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 74.4% of the vehicle miles on the M61. HGVs account for 7.5%, rising to 11.0% on A580 to J2.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 10.1% |
| 2001 | 8.9% |
| 2002 | 8.7% |
| 2003 | 9.0% |
| 2004 | 8.4% |
| 2005 | 8.9% |
| 2006 | 8.8% |
| 2007 | 8.0% |
| 2008 | 9.6% |
| 2009 | 8.8% |
| 2010 | 10.0% |
| 2011 | 9.0% |
| 2012 | 8.1% |
| 2013 | 7.9% |
| 2014 | 7.9% |
| 2015 | 8.1% |
| 2016 | 8.2% |
| 2017 | 8.1% |
| 2018 | 8.2% |
| 2019 | 8.0% |
| 2020 | 9.9% |
| 2021 | 9.2% |
| 2022 | 8.3% |
| 2023 | 7.7% |
| 2024 | 7.8% |
| 2025 | 7.5% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
M61 traffic trend
Traffic on the M61 came to 799 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is up 1.9% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 5.0% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 28.7% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 606m |
| 2001 | 635m |
| 2002 | 675m |
| 2003 | 681m |
| 2004 | 708m |
| 2005 | 689m |
| 2006 | 732m |
| 2007 | 742m |
| 2008 | 710m |
| 2009 | 719m |
| 2010 | 652m |
| 2011 | 709m |
| 2012 | 710m |
| 2013 | 727m |
| 2014 | 745m |
| 2015 | 755m |
| 2016 | 737m |
| 2017 | 769m |
| 2018 | 746m |
| 2019 | 784m |
| 2020 | 617m |
| 2021 | 692m |
| 2022 | 768m |
| 2023 | 793m |
| 2024 | 793m |
| 2025 | 799m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 66,188 |
| 2001 | 69,296 |
| 2002 | 73,683 |
| 2003 | 74,354 |
| 2004 | 77,236 |
| 2005 | 75,242 |
| 2006 | 79,914 |
| 2007 | 80,952 |
| 2008 | 77,533 |
| 2009 | 76,393 |
| 2010 | 73,218 |
| 2011 | 79,636 |
| 2012 | 79,696 |
| 2013 | 81,605 |
| 2014 | 83,617 |
| 2015 | 84,766 |
| 2016 | 82,771 |
| 2017 | 85,617 |
| 2018 | 82,401 |
| 2019 | 86,606 |
| 2020 | 68,160 |
| 2021 | 76,431 |
| 2022 | 84,823 |
| 2023 | 87,595 |
| 2024 | 87,644 |
| 2025 | 88,269 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
The chart counts the whole road as it was each year, so new or renumbered stretches move it. The percentage changes compare only count points present in both years. In 2025, 6 of the 13 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
M61 collisions
Police recorded 226 collisions with the M61 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 62 of them fatal or serious, including 5 fatal. That is 5.9 per 100 million vehicle miles, higher than the 4.9 for all motorways in Great Britain. On average there were 1.8 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Down 10.9% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34 | 12 |
| 2022 | 27 | 11 |
| 2023 | 34 | 14 |
| 2024 | 37 | 16 |
| 2025 | 32 | 9 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
Sections with the highest collision rates
Per 100 million vehicle miles, 2021 to 2025. Sections of half a mile or more with 10 or more collisions.
| Section | Per 100m vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| J9 to M6 Lancashire · 20 collisions | 8.3 |
| J2 to J3 Bolton · 25 collisions | 8.2 |
| J8 to J9 Lancashire · 41 collisions | 7.7 |
| J3 to J4 Bolton · 23 collisions | 5.2 |
| J6 to J8 Bolton, Lancashire · 58 collisions | 4.9 |
| J4 to J5 Bolton · 15 collisions | 4.3 |
| J5 to J6 Bolton · 18 collisions | 3.6 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 23 collisions were recorded at junctions where the M61 was the second road; they are not in the figures above. Fatal or serious uses DfT’s adjusted serious figures. 90.3% of the collisions could be placed on a section. How we count collisions
Council areas on the M61
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Salford
- Bolton
- Lancashire
Planned closures on the M61 in England
National Highways has 56 planned closures on the M61 between 16 September 2026 and 30 September 2026, 55 of them starting in that period. 37 close a carriageway rather than a lane or slip road, and 54 start between 7pm and 6am.
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Carriageway M61 Northbound Jct 5 entry slip road closure
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Carriageway M61 Northbound Jct 4 entry slip road closure
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Carriageway M61 Northbound Jct 5 exit slip road closure
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Carriageway M61 Northbound Jct 5 exit slip road closure
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Carriageway M61 Northbound Jct 5 exit slip road closure
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Carriageway M61 Northbound Jct 5 exit slip road closure
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Carriageway M61 Northbound Jct 5 entry slip road closure
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Lane or slip M61 Northbound lane 3 closure (MP 29/3 to 34/4)
48 more planned closures in this period are not shown.
Planned closures only: National Highways can cancel or change them, and closures caused by incidents are not shown. Council roads in England are not covered. Roadworks and closures across the UK
Source:National Highways 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30 Updated
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traffic counts and vehicle mix | Road traffic statistics (AADF by count point) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2000 to 2025 | 13 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 226 reported collisions | 15 September 2026 |
| Planned closures | Transport Data Feeds (DATEX II) National Highways | 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30 | 2,304 planned closure schemes | 16 September 2026 |
- Annual average daily flow (AADF) is the average number of vehicles passing a point on a typical day of the year, both directions combined.
- Vehicle miles are AADF multiplied by link length and 365, summed over every count point link on the road.
- Sections join count point links between junctions, using the link lines in DfT’s major road database.
- STATS19 covers personal injury collisions reported to the police. Damage-only collisions are not included, and not every injury collision is reported.
- Serious and slight figures are DfT’s adjusted estimates, which allow for police forces moving to injury-based reporting.
- Counts of one or two collisions below Great Britain level are shown as “fewer than 3”.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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