M6 Junction 39 – A6 Shap
Junction 39 of the M6 is where the M6 meets the A6, for Shap. Villages right beside the junction include Shap and Keld.
Roads that meet at or beside this junction: A6, B6261. The main road at the junction is the A6.
From here, the drive north to junction 40 (Penrith) is about 11 miles and the drive south to junction 38 (Tebay) is about 5.4 miles. Junction 39 is about 173 miles from the start of the M6 at junction 1 and 37 miles from the end at junction 45.
- Junction M6 J39 · Shap / Hardendale Interchange
- Signed for A6 · Shap
- Nearest town Shap, 1.9 miles north-west
- Map section Section 7: J36–J40, The Lake District, Tebay and Shap
We also have a page on M6 Junctions 36 to 40: the Lake District, the Dales and Shap, with the traffic counts and news for that stretch.
Live traffic at M6 junction 39
The speed strip below shows the M6 from junction 37 to junction 41, both directions, from National Highways’ live data, checked every five minutes.
Live traffic speed flow: M6 Junctions 37 to 41
Untick all three to see just the speeds. We show the important overhead signs and the mandatory speed limits (red ring); see every overhead sign.
Go to our live M6 traffic speed flow map ›
How busy is the M6 at junction 39?
The Department for Transport counts traffic on the stretches either side of this junction. On the stretch it labels J38 to J39 it counted 52,401 vehicles a day in 2025, 12% of them lorries. On the stretch it labels J39 to J40 it counted 39,666 vehicles a day in 2025, 17% of them lorries. See how busy the M6 is junction by junction.
| Stretch (DfT label) | All vehicles a day | Lorries | Miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| J38 to J39 | 52,401 | 6,057 (11.6%) | 5.7 |
| J39 to J40 | 39,666 | 6,550 (16.5%) | 11.2 |
© M6Traffic.co.uk · Statistics from the Department for Transport, 2025
Junctions either side
- J38TebayA685 · Tebay / Kirkby StephenNearest town: Tebay, 0.3 miles
- J40SkirsgillA66 · Penrith / KeswickNearest town: Penrith, 0.8 miles
Live traffic news at M6 Junction 39
Incidents and roadworks between Junction 38 and Junction 40 that we are aware of.
M6 Southbound Jct 40 to 39 Lane 3 closure with Narrow lanes (Mp 459/4 - 455/7)
00:305 Oct 2026reported 12 min ago
- Location
- M6 southbound within J40
- Direction
- Southbound
- Lanes closed
- Lane closures
- Reason
- Maintenance work
- Schedule
- 06:00 Mon 24 Aug 2026 → 20:00 Fri 13 Nov 2026
Forecast - not confirmed
+ 10 more near Junction 39 - see all the M6 traffic news →
This is the news for Junction 39 only, not the whole M6. For the rest of the motorway see all the latest M6 traffic news, the overhead signs and the speed limits in force now.
Updated 00:42 Mon 5 Oct 2026