Aspen-Pitkin County Airport Misses Out on Round of Federal Funding
Eight Colorado airports around the state are earmarked to receive millions of dollars from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to support infrastructural needs, the offices of Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper announced Thursday.
The Aspen-Pitkin County Airport, however, did not make the cut.
The FAA handed out almost $100 million, which was made available through the Airport Improvement Program, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and discretionary supplemental grant funding.
The Aspen-Pitkin County Airport did not receive funding because its Airport Layout Plan (ALP) has not been approved by the FAA yet. The airport will also not receive funding “until we make progress on shifting the runway or at least removing the less than standard distance between our taxiway and runway centerlines,” said Aspen-Pitkin County Airport Director Dan Bartholomew.
He did ask the FAA if the airport could apply for this round of funding, but it said no since the airport is not eligible.
It is also better for the airport not to apply knowing it will get denied because it could hurt next year’s chances due to the competitive nature of the funding, Pitkin County Commissioner Patti Clapper said.
Bartholomew also asked if the airport could apply for a similar type of funding that is currently available for airport terminal projects — but, again, the feds said no.
“So, we’re pretty much stuck until we have some movement on the runway shift at this point,” he said. “It’s really about physically shifting the runway until we get to a point where the FAA is confident that we are actually going to get proper spacing between a runway and taxiway. They’re not going to allow us to get funding.”
Since the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport is at a standstill, the airport loaned out money that was sitting in its discretionary FAA bank to the airports in Colorado Springs and Hayden for their own projects. This loan will add onto the discretionary funds they will receive directly from the FAA.
Bartholomew said this is something common that happens among regional airports if the airport is unable to use the funds immediately.
“Because we knew we weren’t going to be able to use that funding in 2025, we gave it to those airports,” he said. “It’ll get returned to us at some point in time when we need it, but we were able to defer that money to those airports to add to their projects for this coming year.”
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding times out in 2026, so the FAA needs to see movement from the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport before the application deadline in July 2025.
If movement does not begin to happen at the airport, then the FAA will pull its modification to standard, which allows the airport to have the 95-foot wingspan restriction due to the smaller separation between the taxiway and runway. Bartholomew believes that if this is pulled, then the airport could not sustain commercial air traffic. This is because the taxiway must be sterilized, or cleared of traffic, when an aircraft is on it, and this would slow the flow rate down significantly.
“So, hopefully we’ll get an ALP approved any day now, and then we can start planning for those funds in 2026 because we’re running out of time to apply for them because of the deadline for those funds to be allocated and utilized,” Clapper said. “To get that ALP approved and move forward, we need that money to get an airport that we can update the infrastructure and have it cleaner, quieter, and better for our community and our visitors.”
And the airport is not finished with its woes.
While traveler numbers are up at this time of the year around the country, the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport’s go down in the spring because the runway has to be shut down for maintenance.
“Conditions of the runway are starting to impact our overall annual passenger counts because we’re shut down for almost a month every year now,” Bartholomew said.
The Grand Junction Regional Airport was the closest airport to the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport to receive funding. It received about $34.76 million to shift the existing paved runway 594 feet in order to bring the airport into current FAA standards.
The City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport received nearly $14.41 million to reconstruct 3,700 feet of the existing paved taxiway pavement that has reached the end of lifespan.
The Yampa Valley Airport in Hayden received around $11 million to rehabilitate 10,000 feet of the existing paved taxiway to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement and to minimize foreign object debris to extend its lifespan, as well as reconstruct the existing lighting on the taxiway.
The Denver International Airport received approximately $6.2 million to fund runway drainage improvements and wildlife hazard mitigation to prevent accumulation of precipitation on the airfield, according to the news release. This airport received an additional $3.7. million to acquire and install low-emission equipment, including 15 electric vehicle charging stations.
The Durango-La Plata County Airport, Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, Centennial Airport in Englewood, and Gunnison Crested Butte Regional Airport also received significant funding for terminal expansions, taxiway projects, a noise compatibility plan study, and zero emissions equipment installation.
“Colorado’s regional and municipal airports help connect communities across our state and support local economic development,” Bennet said in a news release from his office. “These dollars will help them invest in safety and capacity upgrades to meet Colorado’s changing needs.”
“Colorado’s airports connect rural communities and power local economies,” Hickenlooper said in the same release. “Our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is still delivering improvements to make air travel safe and accessible for all Coloradans.”
By: I The Aspen Times I September 6, 2024