photos by CAITIE MCMEKIN/NEWS SENTINEL Pete Owens, director of communications at Dollywood, shows cars for the new Lightning Rod roller coaster on Wednesday. The roller coaster is set to open in March, and features a 165-foot drop which propels riders to 73 mph.

SHARE Workers climb down from the structure of Dollywood’s newest roller coaster, Lightning Rod, on Wednesday. It will be the world’s fastest wooden roller coaster with continuously welded tubular steel track and urethane wheels for a better ride, Owens said. “And unlike Thunderhead, which runs on steel wheels, this uses urethane wheels 3,800 ft. of track will make up Dollywood's newest roller coaster, Lightning Rod, which is still being built on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. The roller coaster is set to open in March at the start of the 2016 season, and features a 165 ft. drop which propels riders to 73 mph. (CAITIE MCMEKIN/NEWS SENTINEL) The 165 ft. drop of Dollywoods new roller coaster Lightning Rod peeks out from the trees on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. The roller coaster is set to open in March at the start of the 2016 season. (CAITIE MCMEKIN/NEWS SENTINEL) Related Coverage The guide to visiting Dollywood

By Ed Marcum of the Knoxville News Sentinel

When Dollywood kicks off its 2016 season March 18, it will do so with a new roller coaster that's like nothing park visitors have ever seen.

Lightning Rod will not only be the world's fastest wooden roller coaster, but the world's first launching wooden roller coaster as well, said Pete Owens, Dollywood's director of communications.

The coaster, which will have a drop of 165 feet and a length of about two-thirds of a mile, has a wooden structure, but some advanced features designed to improve the ride, Owens said. He described the experience as riders start up for the first hill.

"You will crest the hill; there is a false drop; you will come back up over a hill, and by the time you hit the bottom of a 165-foot drop on the other side of the ridge, you will be going 73 mph," he said. "That makes this the fastest wooden coaster in the world."

And, instead of the traditional chain-lift method for launching wooden coasters, Lightning Road will use linear synchronous motors to propel cars up the first hill at 45 mph.

Lightning Rod uses some of the same construction methods as Dollywood's other wooden coaster, Thunderhead, but also has a continuously welded tubular steel track for a better ride, Owens said.

"And unlike Thunderhead, which runs on steel wheels, this uses urethane wheels, so it still moves like a wooden coaster but has the ride of a steel coaster. It will be quieter and smoother," he said.

On Wednesday, Dollywood gave members of the press a peek at the ride, which is under construction at the Jukebox Junction portion of the Pigeon Forge park. The ride is actually part of a total revamp of that area, Owens said. Red's Diner will get an interior facelift and an outdoor seating area.

"It's already one of the most popular restaurants in the park, and with the new ride we anticipate a much greater demand," Owens said.

A new retail shop called Hi Octane will tie in with the hot rod theme of the Lightning Rod coaster. A food truck with a chicken theme will be added, and Dippin' Dots ice cream will be sold from an Airstream trailer.

Almost everything in Jukebox Junction will undergo remodeling, Owens said.