 Railroads built near the Military Road attracted more traffic than the road . The road was not well built ; except in the winter when the weather froze the ground or covered it in snow , the road was barely passable . Most of the 140 @-@ mile ( 225 km ) highway was converted into a state trunkline between 1913 and 1920 , mostly as M @-@ 15 or M @-@ 26 . Remnants of the original Military Road can be found as backwoods trails labeled " Old Military Road " on maps , or as a street in Ripley near Hancock called " Military Road " . 
