With the refurbishing of the Allegheny Landing urban sculpture park about three-quarters done, it’s time to concentrate on the final steps. Friends of Allegheny Landing just haven’t settled on what those final steps will be yet.

The park, located along the Allegheny River between the Clemente and Warhol bridges on the North Shore, celebrated the official reopening of the riverfront trail Friday as part of Bike to Work Day. The $305,009 project included relocating the in-ground mosaic along the riverfront, restoring the trail and planting a rain garden to replace weathered yew bushes.

The park, opened in 1983, has gone through a number of projects over the last four years. They include replacing the boat dock and the restoration and relocation of artist Ned Smyth’s Piazza Lavoro mosaic and sculpture.

Next on the list are restoration of artist George Sugarman’s colorful metalwork Pittsburgh Variations and replacing the lighting system, rebuilding the lawn plaza and deciding what to do with the plaza fountain.

The refurbished Allegheny Landing trail on the North Shore was formally dedicated Friday. (Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette)

Lynn Zelevansky, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, said the museum is raising funds to restore the sculpture, which has some rust spots and had problems with graffiti over the years. the museum is responsible for most of the artwork in the park.

Friends of Allegheny Landing is reviewing the remaining work and deciding how to proceed, said Caryn Rubinoff. The group hasn’t decided yet whether to reactivate the fountain, which has been off for several years, because of concerns about continuing maintenance and upkeep costs, she said.

“We’re still deciding, but that might not be the best use for that area,” she said.

At Friday’s ceremony, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto cited former mayors Richard Caliguiri and Tom Murphy for recognizing the potential of Pittsburgh's riverfronts for recreation. They had “the vision of people to see what something can be,” he said.

Working with Riverlife, Friends of Allegheny Landing cobbled together funding from more than a dozen government and foundation sources to pay for the project.

Ed Blazina: eblazina@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1470.

First Published: May 19, 2017, 2:30 p.m.
Updated: May 20, 2017, 3:18 a.m.