The A1231 road runs between Sunderland and Washington

Washington, Tyne and Wear

Washington is a town in the City of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, it joined a new county in 1974 with the creation of Tyne and Wear...

 in Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...

, North East England

North East England

North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...

. It is the main road joining Sunderland and Washington and is one of the main trunk roads leading in and out of Sunderland city centre. The total length of the road is approximately 9 miles (14.5 km).

South Sunderland

The A1231 begins with a single carriageway

Single carriageway

A single carriageway is a road with 1, 2 or more lanes arranged within a single carriageway with no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic. Two-lane road or two-lane highway are single carriageway with one lane for each direction...

 at the Whitehouse Road / Addison Road roundabout

Roundabout

A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...

 junction with the A1018

A1018 road

The A1018 is a road in North East England. It runs between South Shields, at the mouth of the River Tyne, and the A19 near Seaham, County Durham. Most of the route it follows is the old alignment of the A19, before it by-passed Sunderland to meet the Tyne Tunnel.-South Tyneside section:The road...

 Commercial Road in Hendon. It then runs via the Esplanade gyratory on the southern edge of Mowbray Park

Mowbray Park

Mowbray Park is a municipal park in the centre of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, located a few hundred yards from the busy throughfares of Holmeside and Fawcett Street and bordered by Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens to the north, Burdon Road to the west, Toward Road to the east and Park...

 - just to the south of the city centre - where it intersects with Ryhope Road, which is historically and currently the main road to the south of the city.

Then, as Stockton Road, the A1231 heads north, past the Park Lane Interchange

Park Lane Interchange

Park Lane Interchange is a busy transport interchange on the south-western fringe of the city centre of Sunderland, North East England. It offers Tyne and Wear Metro services, long distance coach services and also local bus services. It is on the site of the Park Lane Bus Station that was built in...

 and toward the Priestman Roundabout which is the end-point of the A690 road

A690 road

The A690 is a road in County Durham running from Sunderland in the east through Durham to Crook.-Sunderland section:Throughout the Sunderland section it is known as either Durham Road or New Durham Road, and is one of the major routes in and out of the city. A single carriageway section runs from...

, the main trunk road to the south-west of the city and Durham

Durham

Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

.

Immediately north of Priestman, the A1231 is a dual carriageway

Dual carriageway

A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...

 called St. Michael's Way, part of which it shares with the A183 road as far as the Livingstone Road / Silksworth Row roundabout.

The A1231 then leads north west as Silksworth Row then past a retail park

Retail park

In the United Kingdom, a retail park is a grouping of many retail warehouses and superstores with associated car parking. Its North American equivalent is a power centre. Retail parks are found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in highly accessible locations and are aimed at households...

 as Trimdon Street; and then past Corning Glass Works as Pallion New Road, before reaching the south end of Queen Alexandra Bridge.

North Sunderland

The road crosses the river Wear

River Wear

The River Wear is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.-Geology and history:...

 over the bridge, and then heads west along the national speed limit dual carriageway Wessington Way. The road passes through the southern edge of Southwick

Southwick, Tyne and Wear

Southwick is a former village and now a suburb on the north banks of the River Wear in the city of Sunderland in the county of Tyne and Wear.Southwick borders with Castletown to the west, Monkwearmouth to the east, greenbelt farmland to the north, and the Wear to the south although the Queen...

, Castletown and Hylton Castle

Hylton Castle

Hylton Castle is a ruined stone castle in the North Hylton area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. Originally built from wood by the Hilton family shortly after the Norman Conquest in 1066, it was later rebuilt in stone in the late 14th to early 15th century...

. To the south, the Hylton Riverside retail park runs parallel to the road. Along this section of road, a park and ride

Park and ride

Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...

 scheme operates on matchdays for visitors to the Stadium of Light

Stadium of Light

The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light has the fifth-largest capacity of any English football stadium. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. matches...

.

Washington

The road passes over the A19

A19 road

The A19 is a major road in England running approximately parallel to and east of the A1 road, although the two roads meet at the northern end of the A19, the two roads originally met at the southern end of the A19 in Doncaster but the old route of the A1 was changed to the A638. From Sunderland...

 and heads west toward Washington as the Sunderland Highway. Just past the A19, the A1231 runs along the southern edge of the Nissan car plant.
The A1231 crosses the A182

A182 road

The A182 begins on the A194 motorway between Gateshead and Washington. Though it is a non-primary route it takes the form of a fast grade-separated dual carriageway passing through the New town of Washington from the A194, before meeting at a roundabout with the A183 in Shiney Row.During this dual...

 Washington Highway as it passes the Galleries Washington town centre.

The A1231 ends as a feeder to the north-bound A1 to the north west of Birtley.