Impulse Coaster

Since 2004, the Impulse Coaster is one of the major steel coasters located at Knoebel’s Park. It has over 2,000 feet of track, a nearly 100-foot vertical hill and a 90-degree free fall drop.

The foundation of the Impulse consisted of 42-inch and 54-inch diameter permanently cased drilled shafts. Each of the permanent casings was galvanized for corrosion protection and seated into the bedrock, which was a hard black shale. All of the projects’ 158 shafts were completed within a month using multiple drill rigs, along with working extended hours and weekends. The footprint of the coaster is located in less than one acre of space. The parking lots of the amusement park were used for storage of the permanent casings and construction of the reinforcing cages that were cut to length as the shafts were drilled.