[1] The route is mostly single carriageway with some dualled sections in the Aire Valley, Bradford and the approach to Wakefield from the M1.

The road carries on through Nab Wood (where the eastbound side has a bus lane) to emerge at the improved roundabout at Saltaire[7][8] and the junction with the A657.

The adjacent pub called The Branch was purchased by Bradford Council in 2018 to allow for its demolition in a £42 million scheme to improve the junction.

At Tong cemetery, the A651 leaves to the right hand side and the road heads east before going south again on the Drighlington bypass section where it intersects with the A58.

The road loses its Primary Route designation and intersects with the A643 and the A6029 before arriving at another multiplex junction (Tingley roundabout) with the A653 and the M62 motorway.

The industrial waste was left under the new road and a revolutionary concrete composite was used to build on top of the tip.

There are vents still to be seen at either side of the road to aid the removal of methane [16][17] Sections of the A650 between Tong and the M62/M621 junction cut across the historic battlefield site of Adwalton Moor.