Airport Elk Lot to close for improvements during scheduled spring closure
‘Vehicles towed at owner’s expense’ if left
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
The Elk long-term parking lot at the Aspen Pitkin County Airport will be closed during this spring’s annual closure for runway maintenance, as the parking lot receives upgrades to lighting and parking flow with a new gate.
The parking lot closure will begin at 9 a.m. April 23 and end at 7 p.m. on May 21, alongside the general closure of the airport. Cars left in the parking lot will be towed, according to airport staff.
“We have started to notify everyone, so that they have a period of 30 days before they will be towed at the owner’s expense,” Kesley Petersen, airport communications specialist, said at an Airport Advisory Board meeting on Thursday.
“With this, we are doing improved lighting in there, so everyone can see a lot better at night,” Airport Director at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport Diane Jackson added. “For those who have traveled or worked at night, that lot is not the most feasible at night.”
Jackson also noted that the new lights will be usable in the new airport terminal’s parking system as needed, so they will not be discarded once the new terminal is constructed.
Per a press release announcing the Elk Lot closure, the general closure of the airport is scheduled each year to perform essential maintenance to the runway pavement as subsurface conditions continue to deteriorate over time.
A study in 2023 showed that subsurface materials had degraded “to its foundational elements,” as previously reported by The Aspen Times. Since then, the annual closures have been required to maintain the usability of the runway.
In 2024, voters approved a major runway repavement project scheduled for 2027 alongside terminal construction. The runway project will ensure that these yearly closures are not needed going forward.
The airport has been scheduling these closures in the spring of each year in order to align with off-season and minimize disruptions.
The four Aspen Snowmass mountain resorts will be closed before the late-April closure and “shoulder-season” begins.
More information on the upcoming scheduled closure can be found at the airport’s website, aspenairport.com, as well as updates on the modernization project.
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