A13 road noise: how it affects nearby properties
The A13 runs east from London through Barking and Dagenham along the Thames Gateway towards Southend, carrying heavy commuter and freight traffic past extensive housing and large regeneration areas. The dense development close to its London sections places a very large number of homes within noise range of a consistently busy road.
Traffic on the A13: what the 2025 DfT counts show
The A13 is the road that grew up with the Thames Gateway, and the counts show a corridor that is seldom quiet. Across 41.7 miles from Whitechapel to Shoeburyness, its 51 DfT count points have a median of 72,100 vehicles a day. Only one point records fewer than ten thousand, 31 pass fifty thousand, and nine pass a hundred thousand. The busiest tenth begin at 112,200, the maximum is 133,085, and even the quietest quarter ends at 25,600. Three points in four fall below 93,300, which still leaves one in four above it. The DfT measures the road as only 57 km end to end, so these loads are packed into a compact corridor.
The A13 starts at Whitechapel in London and ends at Shoeburyness in Essex, and the road between is three roads in one. East of the River Lea near Blackwall it becomes a grade-separated dual three-lane expressway, and the western third, 20 points, shows it: a median of 94,800 and a top count of 133,085. The Thames Gateway section, with a viaduct over the Ford works, was completed in 1999, and beyond the Goresbrook Interchange it carries the national speed limit. The middle third (17 points) has a median of 72,900. Near Tilbury it drops to dual two-lane, and the eastern third (14 points) has a median of only 25,100, though one count still reaches 83,843.
Lorry numbers vary from one point to the next. The median across the 51 count points is 5.1 per cent, one point in ten is above 11.4 per cent, and the maximum is 25.3, against a minimum of 0.7. The indicative table uses the median, 5.1 per cent, so beside a high-share point the lorry content will be understated.
| Quarter of points carry under | 25,600 vehicles/day |
|---|---|
| Median point | 72,100 vehicles/day |
| Three-quarters carry under | 93,300 vehicles/day |
| Busiest tenth carry over | 112,200 vehicles/day |
| Busiest single point | 133,085 vehicles/day |
The A13 on the ground
- Runs about 41.7 miles from Whitechapel in London to Shoeburyness in Essex. en.wikipedia.org
- East of the River Lea near Blackwall it becomes a grade-separated dual three-lane expressway; further east it drops to dual two-lane near Tilbury. en.wikipedia.org
- The Thames Gateway section, including a viaduct over the Ford works, was completed in 1999; beyond the Goresbrook Interchange it has the national speed limit. en.wikipedia.org
- From Sadlers Farm eastwards the A13 loses dual carriageway and primary status and is mostly single carriageway; the junction improvement there opened in 2012. en.wikipedia.org
How loud is the A13, and how fast does it fall away?
Here are the A13 numbers for a house at 20, 50, 100 and 200 m from the nearest carriageway. For the typical flow of 72,100 vehicles a day the indicative Lden is 73, 69, 67 and 64 dB. For the busy flow of 112,200 it is 74, 71, 69 and 66 dB. All eight lie above Defra's 55 dB reporting line. The model behind them is open, flat ground with no screening and 50 mph traffic, whereas the road runs from dual three-lane expressway to mostly single carriageway and has the national speed limit beyond Goresbrook, so the real speed will not be 50 mph everywhere. Local walls, embankments and buildings would shift every value.
| Flow | 20 m | 50 m | 100 m | 200 m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical section (72,100 vehicles/day) | 73 | 69 | 67 | 64 |
| Busiest tenth of sections (112,200+ vehicles/day) | 74 | 71 | 69 | 66 |
Areas near the A13
Passing through: Greater London · Essex.
Residential Barking, Dagenham and Rainham sit close to the elevated and at-grade sections, which offer limited natural screening on the flat Thames-side ground. AcoustaPlot calculates a terrain-aware road level for your address, which is particularly useful across the Thames Gateway where new housing has grown up alongside the road.
Recent on the A13
The A13/A130 Sadlers Farm junction near Thundersley in Essex was rebuilt in a major scheme (2017–2023) that replaced a congested five-roundabout gyratory with a new link road and widened the A13 from dual two to dual four lanes between Sadlers Farm and Pitsea.
How AcoustaPLOT assesses A13 noise for your property
On a road only 57 km long, you might expect one number to do. The A13 refutes that: the DfT thirds fall from a median of 94,800 at the western end to 25,100 at the eastern. AcoustaPLOT therefore looks for one of the 51 count points on the A13 itself within 8 km along the road, uses its measured flow and lorry share, and then adds distance, terrain, ground, buildings or barriers and any other roads or rail. On flat Thames-side ground, that detail matters. It reports the day-evening-night (Lden) and night-time (Lnight) levels at your facade, and reads Defra's mapped value for any railway noise where available.
Check my property near the A13 →
A13 noise: common questions
Which end of the A13 carries the heaviest counts?
The western end. Its third has 20 points, a median of 94,800 vehicles a day and the road's maximum of 133,085. Nine points pass a hundred thousand, 31 of the 51 pass fifty thousand, and the busiest tenth begin at 112,200. The eastern third has 14 points and a median of 25,100, so heavy flows fall away towards Shoeburyness.
What changed at Sadlers Farm?
The junction was improved in a scheme that opened in 2012, and a larger scheme between 2017 and 2023 replaced the congested five-roundabout gyratory with a new link road and widened the A13 from dual two to dual four lanes between Sadlers Farm and Pitsea. Descriptions of the road east of there differ, so the nearest count point is the safer guide.
Does the national speed limit beyond Goresbrook affect the A13 table?
The Thames Gateway section, including a viaduct over the Ford works, was completed in 1999, and beyond the Goresbrook Interchange the national speed limit applies. The indicative table assumes 50 mph, so the assumed speed is a simplification there, and an address near the viaduct stretch should be read with that in mind.
What sort of road is the A13 around Blackwall and Tilbury?
East of the River Lea near Blackwall it is a grade-separated dual three-lane expressway, and further east near Tilbury it drops to dual two-lane. The middle third of the counts, 17 points, has a median of 72,900 and a maximum of 102,771, so the narrowing of the road shows up in flow only further east, where the third falls to a median of 25,100.