Kennywood closes rollercoaster after photo appears to show cinderblocks supporting part of the ride
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — Two days after an alarming photo from oneBURGH media blew up on Facebook, Kennywood pumped the brakes on the Racer, temporarily shutting the rollercoaster down Wednesday.
The picture appears to show part of the ride jacked up on two large cinder blocks.
“That’s not okay,” said Patrice Klimchock of Greensburg. “That’s scary to me.”
Channel 11 showed people the photo, including Justin Gambrell, a Kennywood employee.
“This doesn’t look right,” Gambrell said. “I didn’t even know about this, so this is a shocker for me. As somebody who works here, I feel like this should be stuff we know.”
A spokesperson for Kennywood said rides are inspected daily but wouldn’t say how this could’ve gone unnoticed.
“From my understanding that was inspected a few days ago, and that was how it was left to be running?” Klimchock said. “That concerns me.”
The Racer is one of Kennywood’s oldest rides, first opening in 1927.
Without going into detail about why the ride was closed, the amusement park’s communications director Lynsey Winters sent a brief statement saying, “A non-structural enhancement under the station is being made and the ride will reopen tomorrow.”
Some parkgoers are raising questions about safety protocols.
“I would want to know something like that even for the safety of others…because anything is possible,” Gambrell said.
Klimchock agreed.
“Kennywood’s a great place and we love Pittsburgh and want to support it, but they need to take better care,” she said.
When Channel 11 first inquired about the photo of the rollercoaster on Monday, Kennywood’s press team sent this statement:
“The safety of our attractions is our top priority. All rides at the park are inspected daily by Pennsylvania-certified state inspectors before opening so that they may be enjoyed safely by all guests.”
Channel 11 emailed and called the Department of Agriculture that oversees the ride’s inspectors and we have not heard back.
Wooden beams wouldn’t go into the concrete as that would be problematic. Some do have metal brackets attached to the wood but not all of them. With the lattice structure of wooden coasters the sheer number of points it contacts the ground (and more importantly the frequency) make it unneeded that they all attach. This is especially true with the older coasters that don’t have the forces that some newer wooden coasters might have.
