Yes, that’s road is well maintained. I agree, he had to be at that POI at some point or it wouldn’t be a POI. Since it’s a direct shot from the point where Mollie was abducted and his immediate concern would likely be to get out of town quickly before anyone sees him, it makes sense to me that’s the route he took.
Note this route does not go back to Brooklyn, there’s 3 miles of rural area between Brooklyn and I-80. Didn’t CR live somewhere South of Brooklyn and North if I-80? Maybe not... But that is a logical route if he initially headed east just to get out of town then wanted to get back to the TA truckstop without going through town. That would then put him on a very direct tout past WC’s farm en route to the corn field where Mollie ended up.
Worth noting: if he was concerned about whether anybody was following him, these gravel roads make a lot of sense. You can easily see if somebody’s coming your way from a mile away. It would also make sense that if he were southbound on 200th and thought somebody was behind him he’d turn west on 400th (along the route I marked). If that car also turns west on 400th he’s probably being followed, but it didn’t so he continued on his way.