waymaker
/ˈweɪmeɪkə/noun
1A person who makes or mends roads; specifically an English royal official of the 16th and early 17th centuries charged with keeping the highways in good repair. Also with capital initial. Now historical.
2A person or thing that prepares the way for another; a forerunner, a precursor; a prelude. In early use chiefly with to.
Origin
Late 15th century; earliest use found in Catholicon Anglicum: an English-Latin wordbook. From way + maker.