NATCHEZ &045; Another hurdle has been cleared on the way to making the Forks of the Road former slave market site a part of the Natchez National Historical Park.

On Wednesday, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove signed into law Senate Bill 2997, which authorizes the City of Natchez to convey the property to the National Park Service.

Concerned citizens and local governments have pushed for the National Park Service to erect an interpretive center on the property at Liberty Road and St. Catherine Street, the site of a 19th-century slave market.

The site would be part of the Natchez National Historical Park, which now includes the antebellum house Melrose, Fort Rosalie and the William Johnson House, the latter of which is currently under extensive renovation.

In January, the city agreed to buy a quarter of an acre at the site for $92,000.

The state Board of Archives then voted to pay the city $115,000 in grant funds for the property and to erect some type of recognition at the site.

But the agreement for the sale of the land hasn’t actually been signed yet, Mayor F.L. &uot;Hank&uot; Smith said Wednesday.

Archives and History has pledged to give the city the grant and has signed off on the sale, but the state Department of Finance and Administration hasn’t given its OK yet.

DFA approval &uot;should be pretty close, because (that department) has had it for about five or six weeks,&uot; Smith said.

As soon as those hurdles are cleared, the city can actually convey the land to the park service.

&uot;The city was basically acting only as a conduit Šon this (project),&uot; Smith said.

Ser Seshshab Heter-C.M. Boxley, president of Friends of the Forks of the Road, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

But in an interview earlier this year, Boxley called the two parcels purchased at the site of the Forks of the Road &uot;a foundation to build on,&uot; adding that &uot;the city must tell the story of a city built on slavery.&uot;