The route starts at Thornaby Road with a junction on the A1044 road going eastwards towards the
A19 road. This section was single carriageway, but it was upgraded as part of the long-term plans for the area. After the junction with the A19, the route cuts across South Teesside taking an east/west cut past
Normanby,
Ormesby and
Eston to a junction with the A1053 road to
Grangetown. It is here that it loses its Trunk Road status (this carries on up the A1053), but the dual carriageway A174 continues east past
Yearby before becoming a single carriageway. The route of A1053 and A174, is the preferred route inwards and outwards to and from the A19 for traffic going to and from
Teesport. The road turns south at
New Marske before going in a generally south easterly direction towards
Whitby. The road south of
Sandsend was opened out providing a wider carriageway by cutting into the cliff on the west side. Spoil from this project was dumped into Rawthwaite Valley just to the north, infilling a large part of the valley. The road at Sandsend was strengthened in 2015 on account of the effect of the sea upon its base. Over £7 million was spent on the road to prevent future erosion issues. The section from
Hinderwell through Sandsend along the coast to Whitby is a recommended drive by
The Telegraph, which states the road "sweeps down to Whitby". ==Bypasses==