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After two weeks of no operation, Carowind’s signature Fury 325 roller coaster has reopened.
This comes after a July 7 routine maintenance inspection found an issue with the ride’s foundation. Fury 325 closed that day for repairs, which the park publicly noted in a statement a week later on July 14.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, a Carowinds spokesperson said the review identified a slight change in the foundation, or footer around one of the ride’s hundreds of support columns. The footer is the heavy concrete foundation pad in the ground supporting the ride’s columns and beams that hold the track up.
On Monday, July 20, park visitors spotted Fury 325 running while it remained closed to the public.
“Working alongside experienced engineers, maintenance professionals, third-party experts and the North Carolina Department of Labor, we were able to complete a series of proactive measures and complete all necessary corrections to verify that Fury 325 meets and exceeds all safety and operational requirements,” the Tuesday statement from the park said.
Carowinds said roller coaster foundation beams and support may change over time because of environmental, geological and mechanical reasons.
“These gradual changes are not uncommon in large-scale infrastructure and are among the reasons amusement parks perform routine inspections, engineering assessments, surveying and preventative maintenance,” the park said in its statement.
NC Labor Commissioner Luke Farley stated that he had lifted the shut-down order for Fury 325. State inspectors verified that all the necessary repair was completed and did a full re-inspection of the ride before issuing a certificate of operation.
“I appreciate Carowinds’ cooperation and its commitment to addressing this matter,” Farley said in a statement. “We will continue working closely with Carowinds to monitor the safety of the Fury 325 and ensure it continues to meet North Carolina’s rigorous safety standards.”
The 400-acre theme park that straddles the state line in Charlotte and Fort Mill, S.C., is owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation.
Carowinds Fury 325 shut down over foundation issue 3 years after pillar crack
Prior to the reopening announcement, the park gave no timeline for repairs.
But park supporters posted on the Carowinds Fans Only Facebook page on Tuesday, July 21, that a fence added around Fury 325 was being taken down. The group had previously posted about the fence going up on July 14.
The path to reopening Fury 325
In order to reopen, the Elevator and Amusement Device Bureau of the N.C. Department of Labor was required to complete an evaluation of the ride. The bureau’s ride safety inspectors were on site to oversee the process, state Commissioner of Labor Luke Farley said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer.
It was unclear whether Bolliger & Mabillard, the Swiss company that designed and built the roller coaster, was involved in the evaluations.
The second shutdown in three years for the roller coaster
This is the second time in three years that safety concerns forced the 325-foot-high roller coaster to be taken offline.
It was closed for six weeks in the summer of 2023 after a visitor noticed a crack in a support pillar as people on the roller coaster went by.
The location of the footer at issue now is not associated with the beam that was replaced three years, according to Carowinds.
A roller coaster expert previously told the Observer that steel roller coasters, like Fury 325, have a lifespan of about 25 to 30 years. The Carowinds coaster opened in 2015.
