Hello, Coaster! Welcome to Houston. We missed you!

Kemah announces a plan for a new wooden roller coaster as soon as Spring 2007. Thank goodness!

Source: Amusement Today

Kemah Boardwalk building wooden coaster (DEC 7, 2006) The much-anticipated news is finally official. Amusement Today has confirmed that The Landry's Restaurant's-owned Kemah (Texas) Boardwalk is building a wooden coaster for the 2007 season.

The coaster will be located on a tight footprint next to the Saltgrass Steak House. Kemah plans for a late spring or early summer 2007 opening.

The contractor overseeing the complete project is Martin & Vleminckx Rides, LLC based in Haines City, Fla. The design of the ride was completed by Cincinnati, Ohio based-The Gravity Group. The yet to be named coaster will feature two, six-car trains (800 pph capacity) from Philadelphia Toboggan Coaster Co. The ride's safety system will be provided by Orlando's Entech. Bullock Smith & Partners in Knoxville, Tenn. provided Kemah with conceptual and other thematic drawings for the ride.

Concrete work for the ride's footings is underway and was contracted to Houston-based Bobcat Concrete. Erection of the ride's wooden structure by M&V is schedlued to begin next week.

The western-themed coaster will stand 96 feet tall, feature a first drop of 92 feet, reach speeds of 51 miles per hour and travel a track layout of 3,236. But the most impressive fact the coaster has is a result of its less than one-acre footprint that results in the most number of track crossovers ever designed into a wooden coaster. It will also feature several themed tunneled sections.

"The design team has developed a plan to give the Kemah Boardwalk a great wood coaster experience in a very tight footprint. The design incorporates countless crossovers, direction changes, and several tunnels. Tim Anderson, general manager at the Kemah Boardwalk told AT. "In addition, the coaster is being constructed within a few feet of Galveston Bay providing a great seaside view. I believe that this will be the coolest coaster on the coast and will be an exciting feature for our 3 million visitors per year.”

See the complete story in the Jan. issue of AT.