Where the Hammond Trail meets Murray Road, a portion of the trail is closed on weekdays while the McKinleyville Community Services District replaces a sewer force main that runs between Murray Road and the Letz Avenue Lift Station. On the road's eastern stretch toward Fieldbrook, the Murray Road Fuel Break Project is scheduled to move into a section of the McKinleyville Community Forest this week.
You don't have to look hard for the reason. Murray Road is one of a few east-west links in a town that mostly runs north to south. It is a freeway access point, an evacuation route, and the downstream end of a sewer main. Central Avenue is the other route that carries a big share of daily traffic, and it has a crew out this week too. Most of what's under construction in McKinleyville this month sits on the routes residents have the fewest alternatives to.
The October calendar, in order
- Since about Sept. 22, weekdays: the Hammond Trail is closed between the Letz Avenue Lift Station and Murray Road. The closure is expected to last about four weeks.
- Since Sept. 28, sites in rotation: the county is installing curb ramps and push-button flashing beacons, including at Washington Avenue and Oakdale Drive and at Hiller Road by Hiller Park.
- Oct. 5 to 8: a new right-turn lane goes in on Central Avenue at Railroad Drive.
- Week of Oct. 5: the Murray Road Fuel Break work reaches a section of the McKinleyville Community Forest.
- Oct. 15: the Rotary Club of Mad River holds its drive-through Oktoberfest meal at Azalea Hall.
The Hammond Trail closure is weekdays only
MCSD calls this the Letz Forcemain Replacement Project. Crews are replacing the existing sewer force main between the Letz Avenue Lift Station and the downstream connection at Murray Road. The new pipe has "substantially the same capacity and function" as the old one. The district says the project won't add capacity or extend service to new areas, and that all disturbed ground will be restored to its pre-project condition afterward. The county's permit record approved the work on Aug. 20, 2026, and describes the force main work as an approximately 1,700-foot segment along the Hammond Trail.
The timing is the part to plan around. MCSD's notice gave Sept. 22 as the expected start and "approximately four weeks" as the expected length. If crews started on schedule, the closure would run into the third week of October. The district hasn't confirmed the actual start date, though, so treat any end date as an estimate until the district announces the trail has reopened. The closure applies only on weekdays, so the full trail is open on Saturdays and Sundays.
On weekdays, MCSD has posted a map with two detours, labeled Alternate Route A and Alternate Route B. The notice text doesn't spell out the streets, so the district's closure page and the posted signs at the trail are the reliable guide. If you've been riding the newer trail connections covered in our post on McKinleyville's unfinished trails, check the map before you plan a weekday loop that runs through this segment.
Uphill, the fuel break reaches the Community Forest
The other end of Murray Road has a different kind of job underway. The Murray Road Fuel Break Project is part of Phase VI of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan. MCSD describes Murray Road as "a key ingress and egress route between McKinleyville and Fieldbrook." The work is meant to cut ladder fuels, improve firefighter access, and help provide safer evacuation routes.
The schedule has moved twice. MCSD's first notice, released Aug. 6, said closures could begin in mid-August. A revised notice on Sept. 4 pushed the start to the week of Sept. 7. The district's project page now says a section inside the McKinleyville Community Forest starts the week of Oct. 5.
Through all three notices, the warning has stayed the same: the Murray Road Parking Area and portions of the forest "may be temporarily closed." MCSD hasn't posted a notice saying the parking area has reopened, so expect possible closures at that trailhead this week and next. The work is led by the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District, working with MCSD, Green Diamond Resource Company and other partners. The September notice credits funding to CAL FIRE's Wildfire Prevention Grants Program.
Put the two Murray Road projects side by side and you get the month's main constraint. On a weekday this week, the Murray Road Parking Area may be closed and the Hammond Trail segment ending at Murray Road is closed. Both closures come from work that keeps the same road functioning as a utility and emergency corridor.
Central Avenue gets a turn lane, and two crossings get beacons
Central Avenue's work is shorter and more tightly scheduled. Humboldt County Public Works is removing the existing striping at Central Avenue and Railroad Drive and adding a dedicated right-turn lane for traffic turning from Central onto Railroad. The department says the change is a safety improvement for McKinleyville Middle School.
| Day | Work hours at Central and Railroad |
|---|---|
| Monday, Oct. 5 | 8:30 a.m. to noon, then 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Tuesday, Oct. 6 to Thursday, Oct. 8 | 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with occasional work outside these hours |
The Mad River Union's printed notice lists the Monday hours under "Monday, Oct. 8." October 5 is the Monday this week, so those split hours apply to the first day of work. The 2:30 p.m. cutoff on the later days may help with afternoon school pickup.
The county's second project is slower and less predictable. Its Sept. 25 notice listed Washington Avenue at Oakdale Drive and Hiller Road at Hiller Park among the sites getting accessible curb ramps and push-button flashing beacons. Work started in Redway on Sept. 28 and is moving through the remaining sites from there, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with traffic control and minimal delays expected. The notice doesn't say when crews will reach either McKinleyville location or when the work will finish. An earlier Caltrans announcement identified these two spots as trail crossings planned for pedestrian rapid-flashing beacons. If that's right, the beacons will make it easier to cross between trail segments once the Hammond closure lifts.
Hiller Road keeps coming up for a reason
Hiller Road shows up in this month's crosswalk work, and it also anchors the longest-term proposal on the table. At the Sept. 23 meeting of the McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee, Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone brought back his request that Caltrans study freeway ramps at Hiller Road.
The Mad River Union story lays out the current routes. Hiller Road crosses U.S. Highway 101 on an overpass with no ramps. For people on the west side of the highway from Hiller Road south, the only freeway access is at School Road. Residents in the center of town on the east side take Central Avenue or McKinleyville Avenue to reach the ramps at Murray Road, School Road and the south end of Central. That's the same set of streets carrying this month's work.
Madrone is asking for a study of two ramps, a southbound on-ramp and a northbound off-ramp, similar to the 14th Street ramps in Arcata. He said a four-ramp design would require Caltrans to acquire developed residential property.
"I have often thought with all our Town Center discussions and all the concerns around Central Avenue, that if we had those two ramps at Hiller Road, it would be a game changer for McKinleyville," Madrone said.
This is still a request for a study. Madrone said he, Public Works Director Tom Mattson and Planning Director John Ford planned to meet with Caltrans within about a week and a half of the Sept. 23 meeting. Their goal was to get the ramps included in the Highway 101 Corridor Management Plan. No construction schedule exists.
Madrone also planned to raise a second idea at that meeting, a Vista Point Park. It would sit on county-owned land west of the highway, north of Airport Road and south of the existing Caltrans Vista Point overlook. The county is studying the proposal with Cal Poly Humboldt.
One stop that isn't on Murray Road or Central
Azalea Hall, at 1620 Pickett Road, is away from all of the construction. On Thursday, Oct. 15, the Rotary Club of Mad River holds "Brat To You, Oktoberfest To Go" there, a $30 drive-through bratwurst meal. You can order through Venmo or by emailing [email protected], and proceeds support local projects and scholarships.
Road and trail work like this month's is part of daily life in McKinleyville, and the agents at Coldwell Banker Cutten Realty follow it the same way their neighbors do. If you'd like to talk through how a project near your street or a proposal like the Hiller ramps fits into plans for your home, Contact Us Today.
