Colorado’s Aspen Pitkin County Airport will close next month for its annual maintenance period. According to airport manager Dan Bartholomew, this year’s work—which begins on Monday, May 2 and lasts through Monday, May 16—involves targeted patching to 8,000-foot Runway 15/33 with milling and overlaying of asphalt. The project will also involve strengthening modifications to the airport’s commercial aircraft parking area to prepare for the eventual operations of the Embraer E175 there.
Bartholomew told AIN the repair work is estimated to cost $4.6 million and will be primarily funded using an FAA Airport Improvement Program entitlement grant. During the maintenance period, both the runway and all taxiway connectors will be closed and aircraft operations will be limited to helicopter emergency medevac and mountain rescue operations, which must be coordinated through a prior permission required protocol.
According to NBAA’s Air Traffic Services desk, nearby Rifle Garfield County and Eagle County Regional airports could see traffic increases during the closure. While there are currently no slot/reservation requirements for either of these two airfields, that could change in the face of increasing demand, it added.