M62 road noise: how it affects nearby properties
The M62 is the main trans-Pennine motorway, connecting Liverpool and Manchester to Leeds and Hull across some of the most exposed high ground on the network. Its character changes completely along its length — dense urban housing at each end, and wind-swept open moorland over the Pennine summit — so an M62 address needs assessing on its specific stretch rather than by the road's reputation.
Traffic on the M62: what the 2025 DfT counts show
The M62's 63 count points run from 2,874 to 150,115 vehicles a day. Even so, 53 points carry more than fifty thousand and 35 carry more than a hundred thousand. The median is about 104,500, with the lowest quarter below 63,900 and the lowest tenth below 27,900. At the top, the upper quarter starts at 113,900 and only the busiest tenth go beyond 129,900. Two points record fewer than ten thousand, so a quiet reading does exist on this road, but it describes a small minority of its length. Taken together, the counts show a road that is rarely light.
Is the M62 across the Pennines a lonely road? Not in the data. Reading from the west end, near Liverpool, the first third has 23 count points with a median of 104,500 vehicles a day, and the middle third is busier still at 111,100, with a maximum of 150,115. Only the final third, 17 points, falls to a median of 60,700. Over 107 miles, from Liverpool to North Cave, the character changes sharply. The Pennine summit near junction 22 reaches about 372 m (1,221 ft), the highest point on any UK motorway, and eastbound there are four lanes between junctions 21 and 22 to help traffic climb towards it.
The median count point records 13.7% heavy goods vehicles, the heaviest tenth of points exceed 20.6%, and the heaviest reaches 25.3%, about a quarter of all traffic. The lightest is 2.8%. For anyone near the road that spread matters more than the average, because a stretch with a quarter of vehicles being lorries will sound different from one with 3%, even at an identical total flow.
| Quarter of points carry under | 63,900 vehicles/day |
|---|---|
| Median point | 104,500 vehicles/day |
| Three-quarters carry under | 113,900 vehicles/day |
| Busiest tenth carry over | 129,900 vehicles/day |
| Busiest single point | 150,115 vehicles/day |
The M62 on the ground
- The M62 runs 107 miles from Liverpool to North Cave; junctions 1 to 4 were never built and junctions 12 to 18 are M60. roads.org.uk
- Its Pennine summit, about 372 m (1,221 ft) above sea level near junction 22, is the highest point on any UK motorway. yorkshirepost.co.uk
- The carriageways split around Stott Hall Farm because surveys found a geological fault and unstable ground, not because the owner refused to move. discoveringbritain.org
- Near Scammonden the motorway crosses the top of a 76 m high earth dam, built largely from material excavated from the adjacent cutting. en.wikipedia.org
- Eastbound, the road has four lanes between junctions 21 and 22 to help traffic climb towards the Windy Hill summit. en.wikipedia.org
- A 15-mile stretch between junctions 25 and 30 was upgraded with dynamic hard shoulder running and variable limits, fully opening in October 2013. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
- Plans to make junctions 25-30 all lane running were cancelled; steel central barriers between junctions 26 and 28 became concrete by October 2023. nationalhighways.co.uk
How loud is the M62, and how fast does it fall away?
How far does distance help on the M62? On empty, level ground a typical 104,500 vehicles a day starts at an Lden of 82 dB 20 m out and loses nine decibels by 200 m, passing 79 dB at 50 m and 76 dB at 100 m before settling at 73 dB. The busiest stretches, about 129,900 a day, start a decibel higher, at 83 dB, and end at 74 dB, with 79 and 77 dB between. WHO's 53 dB guideline and Defra's 55 dB threshold both sit far below the entire table. Embankments, cuttings, moorland shelter and houses are not in these numbers, so each M62 address will depart from them.
| Flow | 20 m | 50 m | 100 m | 200 m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical section (104,500 vehicles/day) | 82 | 79 | 76 | 73 |
| Busiest tenth of sections (129,900+ vehicles/day) | 83 | 79 | 77 | 74 |
Areas near the M62
Passing through: Merseyside · Greater Manchester · West Yorkshire · East Riding of Yorkshire.
Around Manchester, Huddersfield, Bradford and Leeds the M62 runs close to extensive housing, often on embankment with little natural cover. Over the trans-Pennine section the land is open but sparsely populated. AcoustaPlot identifies which type of section is nearest your property and whether terrain is working for or against you, then calculates the road level for your address.
Recent on the M62
Government plans to extend “all lane running” smart-motorway conversion to the M62 between junctions 20 and 30 (Rochdale to Rothwell, via Brighouse) were officially cancelled in April 2023 on safety and cost grounds, so the hard shoulder remains in place along these sections.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/plans-for-new-smart-motorways-cancelled
How AcoustaPLOT assesses M62 noise for your property
Because the M62 stretches 151 km along the data axis and has 63 count points, AcoustaPLOT checks whether one of them lies on the M62 within 8 km of the address along the road. It then borrows that point's volume and lorry percentage, which here could mean anything from 2.8% to 25.3% lorries, and adds real distance, ground, buildings or barriers and other roads or rail. The M62 is demanding to model because the setting swings from urban embankment to open moorland and back again. 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 M62 →
M62 noise: common questions
Why do the M62 carriageways split around Stott Hall Farm?
Surveys found a geological fault and unstable ground, so the carriageways were routed apart; it was not because the owner refused to move. For noise, the table measures from the nearest carriageway, which matters where the two sides are separated. The land between and around them is also unusual, which is a reason to treat anyone beside this stretch as a one-off for a proper address assessment.
Is the Pennine summit the quietest part of the M62?
The data does not single out the summit. It reaches about 372 m near junction 22, the highest point on any UK motorway, but count points are grouped by thirds along the road, not by altitude. What the thirds show is that the eastern third is the lightest, with a median of 60,700 vehicles a day, while the lowest reading anywhere on the road is 2,874.
Did the M62 between junctions 25 and 30 get all lane running?
No. A 15-mile stretch was upgraded with dynamic hard shoulder running and variable limits, fully opening in October 2013, but plans to make junctions 25 to 30 all lane running were cancelled. The steel central barriers between junctions 26 and 28 became concrete by October 2023. The hard shoulder remains in place, so the measured flow, not a conversion, is what this page relies on.
What is unusual about the M62 at Scammonden?
Near Scammonden the motorway crosses the top of an earth dam 76 m high, built largely from material excavated from the adjacent cutting. A road carried across a dam sits at a different height from the land beside it, which changes how much the ground can shield nearby homes. The open-ground table does not capture this, but the terrain step of an address assessment does.