Major renovations and upgrades are coming to the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport in Colorado after county officials moved the airport overhaul into the next stage.
Following a unanimous vote, the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners approved the schematic design for the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport terminal upgrade, allowing the project to move into design and preparation for construction.
The centerpiece of the modernization project is a new passenger terminal designed to better serve travelers, airport employees and the community. The current plan calls for a terminal of about 90,000 square feet, with details such as parking, employee areas, passenger seating and baggage areas continuing to be refined as the design moves forward.
Construction manager Carter Strothman said one thing expected to remain close to the original plans as the design process continues is the size of the facility. Although the plan allows room for future growth, the terminal is likely to stay near the 90,000-square-foot footprint, helping keep the project on schedule.
Costs may change as the design develops, as commissioners have suggested some parts of the plan could be postponed to a later construction phase to reduce spending during this phase. Funding for the modernization effort is expected to come from a combination of FAA grants and public bond funding. The airport has applied for terminal funding through the FAA’s Airport Terminals Program, and voters approved bond funding to support terminal and airfield improvements. Phase 2 construction could begin as early as a year after Phase 1 upgrades are completed, with the overall terminal project expected to be completed by 2029.
The modernization project comes as the airport works to replace and improve a terminal that has served the community since 1976. The original terminal was known for its passive solar heating design, but it has not had major upgrades since it opened. Meeting FAA requirements and creating a more modern facility for passengers and employees are among the factors driving the project.
In preparation for the terminal project, the airport is also moving forward with runway and airfield improvements. The airport is scheduled for a closure in 2027 to allow for major infrastructure work, including runway reconstruction, while terminal construction continues as part of the larger modernization effort.
Photo by Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
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