[1][2] The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections and forms a large part of the route between Manchester and Chester.

It also acts as a major access route to Chester/North Wales to the west and to Manchester to the east for the conurbation of towns and villages around the Dane Valley centering on Winsford and Northwich.

The central part, which forms the Northwich Bypass between Davenham and Lostock Gralam, suffers because of the amount of commuter traffic from this area.

At the junction with the A559 just outside the village of Lostock Gralam, the road becomes dual carriageway again (it gains a central reservation) and turns south to bypass the town of Northwich.

This section of road was constructed before World War II but not opened to traffic: in 1944 it was used to store tanks and artillery in preparation for the Normandy landings (D-day).

The road through the village is limited to 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) and has traffic light junctions with Dalefords Lane/School Lane and the A49.

The new road bypasses Mere, Bucklow Hill, Millington and Rostherne and provides a strategic link for traffic heading between Greater Manchester and the south.

In 2017 a junction improvement was completed around the Davenham area to enable vehicles to turn safely onto Hartford Road coming from Hartford/Chester and also to allow for housing developments to have Trunk Route Access.