The Mendocino County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) is proposing the Brooktrails Second Access Project to provide a second public roadway connecting the Brooktrails community with the regional transportation system.

Brooktrails is currently served by a single improved public roadway, Sherwood Road, which provides the only paved connection between the community and U.S. Highway 101. Sherwood Road serves all residential, commercial, school, emergency service, maintenance, and visitor traffic traveling to and from Brooktrails. Temporary closures resulting from traffic collisions, wildfires, flooding, fallen trees, utility emergencies, roadway maintenance, or other unforeseen events may substantially limit access to the community until the roadway is reopened.

For more than three decades, Mendocino County, the Brooktrails Township Community Services District, the Mendocino Council of Governments (MCOG), emergency service providers, and Brooktrails residents have recognized the need for a second public access serving the community. The project is intended to improve public safety by providing an additional route for emergency response, emergency evacuation, and daily travel while improving overall transportation circulation between Brooktrails, the City of Willits, and U.S. Highway 101. Numerous transportation studies, engineering evaluations, and community planning efforts have concluded that providing a second public access would improve emergency response capabilities, strengthen emergency evacuation opportunities, and enhance the reliability of the transportation system serving Brooktrails.