UPDATE: Per an email from City Spokesperson Mike Parks on Tuesday, May 21, installation of the North End Gateway Art Project that was planned for this Friday has been postponed due to scheduling conflicts. A new installation date will be announced soon. 

HARRISONBURG, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – A new sculpture is set to debut on the northern end of downtown Harrisonburg.

The project, created by local artist Nick Brinen, will be placed on the new island constructed at the split between North Main Street and Noll Drive. After delays due to scheduling conflicts, an installation date has yet to be announced.

The 20-foot-tall steel work will display words signifying the Harrisonburg Community’s values with the title “A City For All.” According to a release, the project highlights themes that define the Friendly City – such as diversity, local history, and the beauty of the surrounding Shenandoah Valley – identified by members of the Harrisonburg community.

Lights will illuminate the sculpture in the evenings. Harrisonburg Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program Manager Kristen McCombe led the project.

“It was important that this artwork could stand the test of time and let everyone coming to Harrisonburg’s Downtown know what is important to our community and who we are,” McCombe said in the release. “I am very grateful to Nick [Brinen] and everyone who came together to make this long-desired project a reality, and I am excited to know people will be coming to our Downtown for many years to see this wonderful artwork.”

The project was a culmination of partnership between the Harrisonburg’s city staff and City Council, the Arts Council of the Valley, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance and the Northeast Neighborhood Association. It will be the latest in a growing number of art installations in downtown Harrisonburg.

The city’s Public Works department announced earlier this week that the installation will require a road closure for northbound traffic on North Main Street from Gay Street to just after the project site near the Kratzer Avenue/North Main Street intersection.

Work is expected to begin early morning next Friday, with an expected project completion later that day. A detour will be in place for northbound traffic on North Main Street.

According to the release, a celebration event commemorating the project will be announced soon.

Rocktown Now’s Mario Retrosi contributed to this report.