State Rep. Scott Simon has long had an “itch” to ride his wheelchair to Covington from his home in Abita Springs, grab a bite to eat and relax on an outside veranda before heading back.

On Friday, his wish came true.

With live music, raffles and a flag raising ceremony, Covington city officials unveiled the city’s new $1.65 million Tammany Trace Trailhead, an effort 11 years in the making.

Jackson Fontenot, 3, plays in the fountain at the new Tammany Trace Trailhead in Covington Friday. He was one of 300 or so who showed up for the unveling of the trailhead, an 11-year project that cost $1.65 million. The trailhead boasts a circular stage and grassy knoll. (Staff Photo by Matthew Penix)

“It’s an exciting day in Covington, an exciting day for the Northshore,” said Simon, one of about 300 community leaders and residents who attended the ceremony.

The new Trailhead on the corner of Lockwood Street and New Hampshire Street mirrors the Mandeville Trailhead with a stage for live music and a grassy knoll for sitting. A metal roof over the circular stage represents a nearby city water tower jutting into the skyscape.

The land, once a parking lot, was transformed from gravel and grass by architect Randy Aultman, who designed the 60-foot bell tower, fountain and office rooms where one day a city museum may be installed. Also like Mandeville’s Trailhead, an open-air farmer’s market will begin June 18, moving from the lawn of Covington City Hall.

“I guess I was a little jealous of Mandeville,” City Councilman Trey Blackall said after working as an engineer on the Mandeville project. “I thought, ‘Well why not us? Why not in Covington? We saved our money, got our land and we’re here today,” he said.

Blackall and Mayor Candace Watkins also dished out accolades to City Councilman Lee Alexius and former Councilwoman Jan Robert, who made completion of the Covington trailhead a “personal priority.”

Alexius’s family donated part of the land for construction, and Roberts helped secure federal and state financial dollars for development.

“This is one of the most visible things that shows (city officials) are doing things underground that we never know about,” Aultman, the architect, said.

The new trailhead solidifies a long held effort to build unofficial welcome centers along the 32-mile path snaking through St. Tammany.

Lisa Maddox, executive director of the Tammany Trace, called the trailhead another notch in St. Tammany’s tourist belt.

People from all 50 states have visited the trace, and the new trailhead gives them a reason to return, she said.

“What they’ve done in the little space available is beautiful,” she said.

The city’s Economic Development Office agrees. The department moved its office into a corner of the welcome center, which also boasts two bathrooms and a video room, likely to be used for educational purposes, Maddox said.

In time, the trailhead will also help host Covington’s Friday night block parties, providing an outdoor venue for live bands.

“This is part of our history,” Blackall said. “I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t check on this project every day. Through the rain, through the wind, we got it done.”