The world’s longest, tallest, and fastest single rail roller coaster is one step closer to opening! The final piece of track for the Jersey Devil, the latest addition to the thrill rides at Six Flags Great Adventure, was placed this week.

The ride had initially been announced in August of 2019 with a targeted 2020 opening, but the pandemic put a halt to the construction; although an exact date hasn’t been set, the park says it will welcome its first riders sometime this summer.

There are still steps that need to be taken before it’s ready like installing the chain link lift mechanism, adding the devil-inspired cars, the controls, along with testing and certification by the state. Once it’s completed, here’s how the park describes the ride: Towering 13 stories, at speeds up to 58 mph, Jersey Devil Coaster riders will soar single file through the dark and foreboding woods over 3,000 feet of track. Inspired by infamous New Jersey mythology, the cutting-edge coaster will feature five intense elements including three dramatic inversions.

Some of the features of the attraction include:

• Four sleek trains of 12 passengers each sitting low and inline style (one rider per row) with their legs straddling either side of the monorail track;
• 3,000 feet of soaring, single-rail, I-beam track;
• Tension-building ascent up a towering, 130-foot lift hill;
• Flying at speeds up to 58 mph;
• Intense elements including a steep 87-degree first drop and overbank cutback; and
• Three dramatic inversions including a 180-degree stall, raven dive, and zero-gravity roll.

When the ride was announced in 2019, the park’s spokesman said “Jersey Devil folklore has been a source of fear and intrigue here in the Pine Barrens for more than 200 years, and this iconic piece of New Jersey history inspired the design for this monstrous scream machine.”

Iron workers from TCN & Co, the ride’s erection company which is based in Marlton, New Jersey, along with the ride’s manufacturer and Six Flags project supervisor, signed the final piece of orange steel before it ascended to its final resting place atop the extreme, 87-degree, vertical drop.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.

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