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I don't have access to the books at the moment, but a quick internet search says it was built during the first age.


"The Great East Road was originally laid by the Dwarves during the First Age before the first rising of the Sun, probably during the last Age of Stars. It is assumed that the Great East Road was built as a western extension of the Old Forest Road, which ran from the Iron Hills through Rhovanion and ended at the Misty Mountains near the High Pass. The Great East Road gave the Dwarves a route across Eriador to the Ered Luin, and then on into Doriath in Beleriand."

It seems the Dwarf Road, the Great East Road, and the Old Forest were basically an extended road. As such I just imagined them as one road. But, I guess technically they are 3 connected roads built by the Dwarves in the First Age.

Due to a lack of references, I don't trust those entries on the East Road. The Encyclopedia of Arda suggests that the Road was constructed as late as the Third Age at the time of the founding of Rivendell, though I've also seen it written that the Road (at least through Eriador) was built by the Númenóreans for the use of their armies. That said, it is true that TOR assumes that the Old Forest Road through Mirkwood was constructed by Dwarves.

The Great East-West Road between the Grey Havens and Rivendell is referred to as a "Númenórean road" in Tolkien's Unfinished Tales. That doesn't mean that it couldn't have followed a track first laid down by the Dwarves.