For McLain Flats, Next Summer's Flights Start at the Brush Creek Park & Ride

"I think if we do nothing, the default will be for people to rent cars and drive up to the valley," Aspen One's Chris Miller told a joint session of the Pitkin County commissioners and Aspen City Council in June, according to the Aspen Daily News. Aspen/Pitkin County Airport closes at 11 p.m. on Sunday, April 4, 2027, and is scheduled to reopen at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 19, 2027. During those months, the valley's plans for getting people out of town and back again run through the Brush Creek Park & Ride at Highway 82 and Brush Creek Road.

The work that sets up that change has already started on roads and trails close to home.

What the Trucks on Highway 82 Are Carrying

The heavy trucks on Highway 82 after dark this month are part of the runway project. Pitkin County commissioners approved an emergency resolution that lets Elam Construction haul materials at night, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., from Oct. 19 through Nov. 24, 2026. The loads go from the Elam gravel pit in Woody Creek to the airport by way of Smith Hill Way and Highway 82. The airport says the goal is to stockpile material now so less hauling falls into daytime traffic once the runway work starts. At night the pit is limited to loading and hauling. There is no crushing or asphalt production, and nearby residents get advance notice of operations.

Across the highway, Owl Creek Road and the Owl Creek Trail are being moved onto new alignments. The trail shifts up to 30 feet west over about 1,800 feet. The airport's Oct. 29 update said paving of the new trail alignment was underway, with trail users expected to move onto it once paving was complete, and it anticipated Owl Creek Road reopening to two lanes as early as Oct. 31. Drivers should still plan on intermittent daytime and nighttime lane closures through the first three weeks of November while crews finish shoulders, drainage and other details. Temporary signals come back on whenever lanes are restricted.

The airport's runway FAQ lists the rest of this enabling work:

• relocating underground utilities, including a water line
• shifting and realigning the Airport Operations Center parking lot
• extending the Owl Creek culvert
• building a temporary haul route, plus staging and batch plant areas for next year

Why the Runway Has to Move 80 Feet

This is a full rebuild. The current runway is 100 feet wide with a 95-foot wingspan limit. The new one shifts about 80 feet west and widens to 150 feet. That brings ASE up to the FAA's Airplane Design Group III standard, which requires 400 feet between the runway and taxiway centerlines, a spacing the airport does not meet today. After reconstruction, the wingspan limit can go as high as 118 feet. The runway grades will change too. Because the runway is moving, every navigational aid will be replaced or relocated, which is why the airport cannot stay open during construction.

Pitkin County announced on Sept. 28, 2026 that ASE had received a $37 million FAA Airport Improvement Program grant, the largest single FAA grant in the airport's history. The runway and airfield program is budgeted at about $269 million, and the airport expects more than $213 million in federal funding over the life of the project.

The terminal is on a separate schedule. The runway reopens in November 2027, but the existing terminal stays in use until the new one is finished, which is projected for 2029. Airport Director Diane Jackson has said there will be no on-site parking during the closure, and some parking will stay unavailable after reopening while terminal work continues.

Every Route Out Is Measured From Brush Creek

The airport's closure transportation page measures every alternative to the Brush Creek Park & Ride, about 6 miles from Aspen and 5 from Snowmass, where local transit is available.

The table also shows where private flying goes. ASE will be closed to commercial and general aviation for the full closure. General aviation and private jets shift to Rifle Garfield County Airport, where Atlantic Aviation runs the FBO. Helicopters are shut out of ASE as well. The airport directs operators to Glenwood Springs or Rifle and notes that helicopters are generally prohibited from landing on public or private land in Pitkin County outside the airport.

Eagle's Schedule, and the Shuttle Built Around It

Most commercial travelers will end up in Eagle. Eagle County Regional Airport director David Reid told the Aspen Daily News that EGE plans to go from six daily flights to as many as 16 during the closure. That includes nine daily United flights to Denver, Chicago and Los Angeles and seven daily American flights to Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles. He added that schedules are always subject to change. The Aspen Times reported that American's peak-summer Eagle schedule starts May 27, 2027 with 49 weekly flights to three hubs, up from 21 weekly flights to one hub.

The shuttle plan for reaching those flights starts at Brush Creek. At an Oct. 22 meeting of the Elected Officials Transportation Committee, Basalt-based WildPath Transportation described a proposed "EGE Line" stopping at the Brush Creek Park & Ride, Basalt and Glenwood Springs, plus a "Valley Loop" for connections, according to the Aspen Daily News. The committee approved a $300,000 subsidy as part of its 2027 budget. That money could be matched by another $300,000 from partners including the Aspen Chamber Resort Association, Aspen One and the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, and some of those contributions still needed final approval. Fly Aspen Snowmass consultant Bill Tomcich said the subsidy would bring a one-way fare from about $115 to about $69.

The lot itself may also do double duty. Jackson told the council and commissioners in June that small sections of the Brush Creek lot could potentially serve as temporary rental-car parking. A transportation subcommittee was also discussing last-mile connections from Brush Creek to destinations around the valley.

The Canyon Between Brush Creek and Eagle

Every trip from Brush Creek to Eagle goes through Glenwood Canyon, and the Colorado Department of Transportation has work planned there for the same months. From May through October 2027, CDOT will make what it calls "critical repairs" to the roadway, a bridge, structural rail and a tunnel between No Name and Hanging Lake. Traffic in both directions will share single lanes on the westbound side while crews work on the other side. CDOT's Austyn Dineen told the Aspen Daily News:

"Because these repairs are vital and part of a multi-season effort extending into 2028, the project cannot be deferred despite upcoming airport closures without pushing crucial work out several years."

CDOT plans to return traffic to one lane in each direction from Friday through Sunday, with no active work or traffic stops on weekends. The agency names Thursday and Friday afternoons westbound and weekday mornings eastbound as the peak periods to avoid. Westbound is the direction from Eagle toward Aspen, so arrivals on Thursday and Friday afternoons fall in that window. The airport also points travelers to the COtrip Planner before they drive.

The Season Ahead, Date by Date

ASE stays open this winter, and the closure begins the night Buttermilk's lifts stop for the season. Aspen Snowmass lists Buttermilk's 2026–27 season as Dec. 12, 2026 through April 4, 2027. April 4 is also the day the runway closes at 11 p.m.

1. Through Nov. 24: Elam's overnight hauling continues on Smith Hill Way and Highway 82.
2. Through about Nov. 21, the end of November's third week: Intermittent lane closures on Owl Creek Road for shoulder and drainage work.
3. Dec. 10–13: Wintersköl's 75th-anniversary program.
4. Dec. 12: Buttermilk opens with new snowmaking, including two miles of added pipeline reaching toward the top of the mountain, new snow guns and a booster pump station.
5. Dec. 12–13: Lift tickets are $80 at all four mountains for Aspen Snowmass's 80th-anniversary weekend.
6. April 4, 2027: Buttermilk's last day, and ASE closes at 11 p.m.
7. May 27, 2027: American's expanded peak-summer Eagle schedule begins.
8. May through October 2027: Head-to-head traffic in Glenwood Canyon on weekdays.
9. Nov. 19, 2027, 7 p.m.: The rebuilt runway reopens, with the new terminal still under construction.

To follow the work week by week, the airport posts updates on its construction page and takes questions at 970-920-5284.

If you're deciding whether to have a McLain Flats or Starwood home on the market during the closure, or timing a purchase around it, the Engel Lansburgh Team can show you how other owners near the airport are planning for the months the runway is closed. Request a Confidential Consultation.