In 1855, Congress appropriated funds for the construction of a military road from Omaha to Fort Kearney and the Territorial Legislature passed a law on January 26, 1856 placing the authority for construction of roads with the counties through which they ran. It gave the counties the power to levy taxes and appropriate labor for construction. In 1860, a project to build a road from Nebraska City to Fort Kearney was initiated by the Nebraska City community and Otoe County Commissioners in what became one of the most traveled roads in the west as part of the Denver Trail. In 1879, the Nebraska Legislature passed a law providing all section lines become public roads. By 1904, Nebraska had almost of roads, the majority of which were section line roads, the condition of which were usually poor.