Seaside Heights Roller Coaster Removal from Ocean: Jersey Shore Rebuild & Recovery from Superstorm Sandy Damage, Prince Harry Visits? Boardwalk Open in Time for MDW?

When most New Jersey natives reflect on the devastation caused by "Superstorm Sandy" back in October, the image of Seaside Heights' "JetStar" roller coaster standing tall out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, typically comes to mind.

On Tuesday, May 14th, the roller coaster, which once sat on the Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, NJ (the town made famous by MTV's Jersey Shore reality show) will finally be removed from the ocean, as the "restore the shore" movement in New Jersey is kicked into high gear with Memorial Day Weekend just around the corner.

Beach towns across Monmouth, Ocean, & Atlantic counties in New Jersey have been working vigorously to rebuild, recover, restore, and reopen in time for the upcoming summer season, after suffering Sandy's severe "wrath" nearly 7 months ago.

One of the major restoration initiatives taken by the town of Seaside Heights will be the removal of the "JetStar" roller coaster from the water, beginning on Tuesday May 14th. Although the coaster has become a huge tourist attraction/iconic symbol since it plunged off the Casino Pier boardwalk and into the ocean on October 29th, 2012, its removal is a necessary action before the beach can officially reopen.

The demolition project is expected to take about 48 hours to complete and will begin on Tuesday Morning, reports 1010 WINS' Steve Sandberg after speaking with Casino Pier spokeswoman Toby Wolf. 

"Ripping it out of there and getting everything out of the ocean," Wolf said. "[It's] pretty close to shore and that's a safety hazard for swimmers, surf."

A section of the coaster will be preserved to serve as a permanent memorial when the damaged pier is eventually rebuilt, reports CBS News, and, "Seeing that visibly gone will be kind of a feeling of moving forward," said Wolf, "A sense of moving forward."

While Wolf is excited to tear down the JetStar, Danny Merk, owner of the Shore Store shown on MTV's "Jersey Shore," said he'll be sad to see the Jet Star go, reports NJ News.

"I'd like to see it stay in the water," Merk said. "For the north end [where his shop is located], it's a little bit slower on the boardwalk and the Jet Star is an attraction. People love to take pictures of it. People have a lot of memories about it, and I'd like to keep it this summer. We lost a lot of roller coasters, a lot of rides. Every day, people ask me, 'How can I get a picture of that?' "

It is expected to take another year before the pier is fully rebuilt, but a new ride called The Superstorm is already in place on the new boardwalk, Wolf told 1010 WINS.

Maria Mastoris, another spokeswoman for Casino Pier also gave her input about the roller coaster's removal:

"We are thrilled about this," she said. "We've been waiting for this for a long time. It shows we're making progress and that we'll be open and ready for the summer."

Huffington Post reports that Casino Pier, who is responsible for the coaster, has hired "Weeks Marine," an experienced maritime contractor, to do the removal work. They will operate "around the clock until the last piece of the coaster has been removed."

"They're planning on taking it apart piece by piece and taking it away, Mastoris said. "They're going to take a crane around and take pieces off."

Prince Harry of Wales will also be visiting the Jersey Shore the same day that the operation begins (Tuesday). He will tour communities that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy, including Seaside Heights and Mantoloking, during his May 9th-15th US tour, reports NJ.com. Other stops on the prince's week-long American visit (focusing on promoting his charities like the injured servicemen cause) include Washington, D.C., Denver, Colorado Springs, New York City and Connecticut.

The removal of the JetStar roller coaster from the ocean marks the beginning of a "shore" comeback for Seaside Heights, New Jersey. They have recently built a brand new boardwalk, which is now open from Grant Ave to Dupont, according to their Twitter page, and the beach is expected to be open for MDW.

While most of the beach towns in New Jersey still have a long way to go, new progress can be seen everyday as New Jersey works together to "restore the shore."