Kennywood gets roller coasters on track for new season
Spring is a month away, summer is a distant four months away, but work is being done now to ensure the roller coasters and rides at Kennywood are ready for the new season.
On Tuesday, the park shared on social media several photos of track being replaced on the Racer roller coaster as part of its annual maintenance program.
According to Nick Paradise, Kennywood spokesperson, winter work at the park is going well and all three wooden coasters are being inspected and having track replaced.
“Though there are year-to-year variations, we usually replace about 10% of the wood coasters each year, which is why they’ve lasted so long,” Paradise wrote in an email Wednesday.
More than 500 feet of track on the Racer is being replaced with a focus on the ride’s front and back turnarounds.
The Racer, which will mark 94 years in operation this summer, is one of only six Möbius roller coasters — a two-train coaster using a single track — operating today.
Paradise said some track was being replaced on the lift hill of the Thunderbolt roller coaster. That coaster had an extensive retracking in the 2019-20 offseason, so only a couple hundred feet is being done this year.
And about 370 feet of track on the Jack Rabbit roller coaster was replaced, Paradise said.
Maintenance on the coasters every winter includes workers taking apart track for in-depth inspections, making repairs and general care.
Paradise added that work on the Black Widow ride was completed last fall to get it into service for visitors this season. It did not operate the past two years because of mechanical challenges, which were exacerbated by covid complications.
The park also is working on having the Steel Curtain roller coaster ready for the season. It did not open last season because needed work was delayed by the pandemic, according to Paradise.
And as the opening nears, the park is planning to hire workers for the season.
“Our big priority right now is recruiting for seasonal staff at Kennywood and Sandcastle. We aim to hire 2,000 to 2,200 people for all departments as we gear up for the summer,” Paradise said.
While these rides are being prepared for a new season, some favorites were retired last year. The Kangaroo, Paratrooper, Bayern Kurve and the Volcano are now closed.
Another change announced last fall for the park is a new chaperone policy.
Beginning this season, anyone younger than 18 who enters after 4 p.m. must be accompanied by someone 21 or older, who is also a paying customer.
The West Mifflin park is scheduled to open May 8.
Frank Carnevale is the TribLive multimedia editor. He started at the Trib in 2016 and has been part of several news organizations, including the Providence Journal and Orlando Sentinel. He can be reached at fcarnevale@triblive.com.
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