The A1 came to a standstill for almost an hour after a multi-vehicle crash near Durham.
Emergency services were called to the northbound carriageway near to junction 61 at Bowburn at around 1.15pm on Friday.
A car had crashed into the central reservation and it is believed three other vehicles, including a pick-up truck, then collided.
One woman who was trapped in her car had to be freed by emergency services but she was not thought to be seriously hurt.
The ambulance service took one patient to the University Hospital of North Durham.
Traffic was held by police from around 1.50pm as recovery was arranged and debris was cleared from the road.
A spokesperson for the North East Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 1.15pm to a road traffic collision on the A1 northbound between junction 61 and 62 at Bowburn in Durham.
"We dispatched a double-crewed ambulance and one of our Hazardous Area Response Team crews and transported one patient to the University Hospital of North Durham."
The road was reopened at around 2.45pm with some lasting delays back to the A688.
