Military Road was constructed by the Union Army during the American Civil War, intended to serve as a route connecting military forts in Northwest D.C. It also served as a second crossing over Rock Creek, with a bridge (now Joyce Road Bridge) constructed in 1929, as a bypass of the Milkhouse Road ford that initially served as the only crossing in the area.[1][2] Around 1960, a four-lane limited-access parkway bypass with a new bridge crossing Rock Creek was built, realigning Military Road from the original two-lane road across the creek.