West County Trail - Joe Rodota Trail

What & Why?

This 13-mile trail is popular with pedestrians and bicyclists for recreation and commuting because it links Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Graton and Forestville. The West County Regional & Joe Rodota Trails are built along land that was once the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway, a line that linked Petaluma and Santa Rosa with Sebastopol and Forestville. It’s believed the railroad bridges and retaining walls were built in the early 1900's.

The bridges were modified for pedestrians and bicyclists and opened to the public in 1990. This current project is to replace the two small wood bridges on the west end of the trail which are several decades old and at the end of their useful life. In order to maintain the character of the trail, new wood bridges will be installed on new concrete abutments to extend use for many more years.

What's Next?

The design and engineering work for the bridge replacements have been completed. The County will advertise for construction bids in early 2025 with a summer 2025 construction start date.