 At the end of his exploration, Stansbury recommended the route from Fort Bridger in western Wyoming through Laramie Plains to the forks of the Platte (just west of modern North Platte, Nebraska), which later became part of the Overland Trail and Overland Stage Line.East-West communications – the Pony Express, the transcontinental telegraph line, and the transcontinental stage line carrying the mails – followed the Oregon Trail to Fort Laramie and over South Pass until 1862, when Indian attacks forced the stage line to reroute to the Overland Trail.A detachment of soldiers from Fort Laramie cut across The Plains and built Fort Halleck at the base of Elk Mountain to protect the line.