It’s been almost seven decades since its inception, but Natchez’s latest visitor attraction is set to arrive in Natchez Saturday &045; the Natchez Trace Parkway.

A ribbon cutting ceremony for the Trace’s extension into the heart of Natchez is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at the parkway terminus on Liberty Road. Close to 25 dignitaries are set to take part in the ceremony, including keynote speakers Sens. Thad Cochran and Trent Lott.

Started as a project of the Works Progress Administration, the parkway has taken 67 years to complete &045; including the latest section, from the former terminus at U.S. 61 North in north Adams County to Liberty Road.

Since its start, the project has moved forward through diversion of attention and resources to the war effort and the political process, said Ron Zeitz of the National Highway Administration, which spearheaded construction.

The completion of the Trace has also been anticipated by tourism-related agencies and businesses in the Natchez area. &uot;It’s certainly a long-awaited opening,&uot; said Connie Taunton, director of visitor services for the Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau.

That’s because, in addition to bringing the area streams of positive nationwide publicity, the extension opening will tie Natchez into a parkway that attracts more than 1.11 million non-local day trips to the state per year. That added up to an economic impact of $69.38 million in 2003, according to a Mississippi State University study.

The Old Natchez Trace was a series of paths carved out of the wilderness by Native Americans, European explorers and American settlers that, when linked, became one of the most important highway of the Old Southwest, according to information from the Parkway’s Tupelo office.

From 1785 to the 1820s, it was an avenue of exploration, international rivalry, warfare, trade, settlement and development. Owners of agricultural products, livestock, coal, and other materials from the Ohio River Valley floated their goods down the Mississippi River to ports in Natchez and New Orleans, then sold their boats hiked or rode horses home via the Trace.

In 1800, it was named a national mail delivery route, and Gen. Andrew Jackson used it to march troops from Nashville to the Battle of New Orleans. Then came the steamboat &045; and the end of the Trace as a major corridor.

The Daughters of the American Revolution began an effort in 1905 to erect granite markers in every county through which the Trace ran.

Others &045; including political officials and founding members of the Natchez Trace Parkway Association &045; also pushed for the paving of a parkway along the route.

The Trace Parkway took shape in the mid- to late 1930s as a Public Works Administration project, with Congress in 1934 authorizing a feasibility study.

Actual construction began in 1937 with the start of three grading projects. The following year, Congress officially made the parkway a unit of the National Park Service. Dozens of historic sites and natural features lie along the parkway, now 444 miles long, for locals and tourists to enjoy.

The ability to secure funding from Congress &045; which has happened, piece by piece, in the more than six decades since the Trace’s inception &045; has been the main obstacle to the completion of the Trace Parkway, City Attorney Walter Brown said.

&uot;That, and the fact that it’s just an enormous project,&uot; said Brown who, as legal counsel for the city, has been close to the project for years.

Former Natchez Mayor Larry L. &uot;Butch&uot; Brown recalled meeting in 1992 with National Park Service officials in Atlanta to reestablish a relationship with the agency and talk about the future of many projects, including the Trace.

The other obstacle, Brown said, was acquiring the land. But then-Lt. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove led efforts to get $8 million state money to acquire rights-of-way for the project, Brown said.

&uot;That money was given to the city, and once the rights-of-way were acquired, we (the Mississippi Department of Transportation) were able to deed it over to the Parkway,&uot; said Brown, executive director of MDOT.

&uot;Once that was done, Cochran redoubled his efforts to get funding for construction,&uot; Brown said.

And in September 2002, ground was broken for the construction of the 8.7-mile extension from U.S. 61 North to Liberty Road.

Brown noted that enthusiastic backing of the project actually started more than 70 years ago with such people as Roane Fleming Byrnes, Tom Reed and R.B. Dossett.

But the benefit of the Trace extension’s completion, he said, is very much here-and-now.

&uot;Being able to have a person drive history and end up in the most historic settlement on the Mississippi River Š is quite an accomplishment,&uot; Brown said. &uot;And it may be the shot in the arm Natchez tourism needs.&uot;

Natchez Mayor Phillip West said Saturday’s ceremony itself will bring many dignitaries to Natchez, many of whom have never spent time in the area before.

&uot;It’s an opportunity for them to see what a special place we have,&uot; West said. &uot;The extension itself will also bring more traffic to our area, which will contribute (to the area) economically. Š It’s going to serve as a tremendous boost for our city.&uot;