The road originally ran continuously from Newark to Huddersfield, via Sheffield city centre.

Similar to the A57, this section of the road is used to connect traffic heading to and from West and South Yorkshire with routes for the A1 to the south-east.

It starts in the south at the busy roundabout with the A617 and A46 (Newark bypass), known as the Cattle Market Island.

When the A1 ran through Newark, before July 1964, it met the A1 further towards Newark Castle railway station, by continuing from its present route down Debdale Hill then through Kelham, where it met the A617, and along the present-day A617 near what is the present-day Trent Valley Way.

There is an angled crossroads for Rufford (and the Sherwood Castle Holiday Forest[1]) to the left and New Ollerton to the right, and the road passes of a former railway.

Towards Clowne the road follows to the north of a disused railway, and passes the Creswell Campus of Chesterfield College, before crossroads, for Elmton to the left.

It passes the JET Woodall Garage, and meets the B6418 from the left and the terminus of the A618, Rotherham Road for Killamarsh, to the right.

At this roundabout is the Ibis Chesterfield North hotel and the Treble Bob pub-restaurant.

The northern section resumes at the end of the slip roads of junction 35A of the M1 at Tankersley, at a roundabout for Warren and a business park.

It skirts the north of New Biggin Plantation and Westwood Country Park, and is crossed by the Barnsley Boundary Walk, and the Trans Pennine Trail.

There is a grade-separated junction with the A6102, for Sheffield and the former route, which is the eastern end of the Stocksbridge bypass.

This is not adequate for the quantity of traffic it carries, and would have been originally designed as a dual-carriageway as it is a well-engineered road.

It passes Wellhouse Farm and is crossed by Pearoyd Lane, where it overlooks the former steelworks to the south.

Underbank Reservoir is to the south, and Sheephouse Wood is to the north, with the entrance to Fox Wire on the right.

At Midhopestones there is a crossroads, with the left turn for the Ye Olde Mustard Pot pub.

To the south is Langsett Reservoir and the road skirts the eastern edge of Crookland Wood.

From Langsett to the TPT bridge, the A616 is the boundary of the Peak District National Park.

At Crow Edge, it passes the Hepworth pipe works, now owned by Wavin (a Dutch company), and the Prince of Wales Hotel on the right.

Entering Huddersfield, there is a crossroads with the left for Armitage Road (B6110 for Meltham) and the right for Berry Brow and its railway station.

It passes under the Penistone Line and becomes Bridge Street, where it crosses the River Holme, meeting Meltham Road (B6108).

During the road's construction it was downgraded from a dual carriageway with crash barrier to a single carriage way with a passing lane.

[citation needed] Parts of the road have a double white line but at least two vehicles have been known to cross these leading to fatal crashes.

[10][11] There are several ghost stories attached to the Stocksbridge Bypass, including reputed apparitions of a monk and phantom children during the road's construction.

These claims were featured in a 1994 episode of the paranormal documentary series Strange but True?, hosted by Michael Aspel.