Perched atop the towering American Queen, Capt. John Dugger watched smaller tows maneuver the retired MV Mississippi with the same keen eye he employed to guide the vessel for 18 years.

&#8220It looks old,” Dugger said, in town Monday aboard the passenger boat loaded with tourists.

Dugger piloted the former flagship of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ river fleet which was taken downstream for modifications before being returned to City Front for permanent display.

&#8220I’ll make plans to come and see it when they bring it back,” Dugger said.

The 218-foot MV Mississippi IV was decommissioned in 1994 when the Corps’ newer flagship, MV Mississippi V, was delivered.

During the term of former Mayor Joe Loviza, the tow was purchased for $1 with intentions to make it part of a floating display. Local politics changed that plan and the boat sat empty and deteriorating for nearly 10 years.

Two years ago, the title was transferred back to the Corps, revving up plans to have it pulled onto dry land near the Levee Street Depot to become the centerpiece of a Corps of Engineers Interpretive Center.

Monday’s trip will take the MV Mississippi to a shipyard for modifications to ease the move onto land, where restoration can begin.

The process is a $4.89 million project in itself, directed Monday by James Morris of Brandon-based Procon Inc.

Perhaps as soon as the first week in June, said Frank Worley, acting chief of public affairs for the Vicksburg District, the MV Mississippi will be &#8220dollyed” up to land across North Washington Street from Klondyke, where it will be rolled down Washington until it reaches the site of the proposed museum.

Some at City Front to see the old boat float by emphasized the impact the museum will have on educating locals and tourists alike on how the Mississippi River has helped shape the history of Vicksburg.

&#8220It’s so exciting,” said Nellie Caldwell, head of the committee that oversees the Vicksburg Riverfront Mural project. &#8220It’s important for people to know about the river and how it changed.”

The interpretive center, funded in stages by Congress, is to tell the story of the Corps of Engineers’ work on the lower river. After flooding in 1927 caused what would be almost $4 billion in damages today, Congress gave the Corps the mission of maintaining the nation’s largest waterway for navigation and limiting flooding. Much of that work has been centered in Vicksburg, where Corps entities include the Engineering Research and Development Center, the Vicksburg District and the Mississippi Valley Division.

Projected by the Corps to open in spring 2009, the center will include an exhibit featuring interactive views of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The Fairground Street bridge will be refurbished to serve as a pedestrian walkway at the site, leading to an observation deck.

The Corps has traditionally had one of its workboats as its flagship and named it the MV Mississippi. The MV Mississippi in service today is based at the Memphis District and is the fifth in the series.