"From a public standpoint, we're working seven days a week, 24/7."

That's how Ryan Konen, a construction manager for Kiewit Infrastructure Corp., described the 2027 runway rebuild at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport to county commissioners in June, as the Aspen Daily News reported. The airport doesn't close until 11 p.m. on Sunday, April 4, 2027. For Woody Creek, though, night work for the project started on Oct. 19. Since then, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., loaded trucks have been leaving the gravel pit off Raceway Drive, crossing Smith Hill Way, and heading up Highway 82 to the airfield.

The trucks are the first visible piece of the runway project. They also show how the pit's night limits work. Those limits have stayed fixed for years, and they have been raised when the airport needs material.

The Runway Starts on Raceway Drive

The pit is the Vagneur Gravel Pit, run by Elam Construction. Aspen Journalism places it next to the City of Aspen's 61-acre parcel on Raceway Drive, a short walk from the Woody Creek Tavern and the post office. Anyone who picks up mail or meets friends at the Tavern is living a few minutes from one end of the airport's supply line.

Pitkin County commissioners approved an emergency resolution that lets Elam haul at night between Oct. 19 and Nov. 24, 2026, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. According to the airport's Oct. 15 construction update, trucks run from the Woody Creek pit to the airport by way of Smith Hill Way and Highway 82. The material is being stockpiled ahead of next year's construction so the runway project stays on schedule and less hauling lands in daytime traffic.

The night approval is narrow. Work after 7 p.m. is limited to loading and hauling, with no gravel crushing or asphalt production. The existing rules on noise, air quality, traffic control and notifying nearby residents still apply, the Aspen Daily News reported on Oct. 17. The airport says nearby residents will get advance notice before each round of operations.

The Old Limits Next to the New Ones

The numbers stand out once you compare them with the pit's usual rules. Under its existing permit, Elam could work 10 nights a year, with no more than 40 truckloads a night. It also had to notify the Woody Creek Caucus and the W/J Ranch homeowners 72 hours before any night work, according to a 2012 Aspen Times report. This fall's approval allows up to 130 truckloads a night.

The cap is more than three times the standing limit. At 130 loads spread over the 12-hour window, a loaded truck would leave the pit about every five and a half minutes, all night. The cap is a ceiling, though, and some nights may see far fewer trucks.

The middle column matters too. The last time the county loosened Elam's night rules, in 2012, the reason was also the airport, though the increase was smaller. That season, commissioners doubled night operations from 10 to 20 and raised the per-night cap from 40 to 60 so Elam could make asphalt and concrete for airport projects. Neither the caucus nor the W/J Ranch homeowners objected, commissioners were told. In 2012 and again in 2026, 14 years apart, Woody Creek's night limits were raised to supply work at the airport.

What the Neighborhood Wrote Down Years Ago

The pit and the community have a long record of working this out in public. A 2006 Aspen Daily News account described an operation of almost 50 acres, running 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. under an annual permit review. According to the Woody Creek Caucus master plan, commissioners granted Elam a 20-year permit extension on Aug. 12, 2009, with yearly reviews and an expiration in 2029.

The master plan was adopted in November 2016. It records concerns about noise, dust, winter truck traffic, snowmelt contamination, backup alarms and Jake brakes, and it calls for strict enforcement of noise limits and operating hours. It also says company trucks were not to use River Road or McLain Flats Road to reach or leave the plant, except for deliveries to addresses that can only be reached from River Road. That is one reason this fall's published route runs through Smith Hill Way to Highway 82.

Smith Hill Way has carried the pit's traffic for a long time. In 2008, caucus members raised concerns that about 70 dump trucks an hour on weekdays were wearing on the Smith Hill Way bridge, as the Post Independent reported. In the same report, caucus members called Elam a good neighbor. Those 2008 and 2016 details are history, not a statement of today's permit. They do show that the conditions now being stretched were negotiated, recorded and enforced over many years.

The Calendar Between Now and Thanksgiving

The night window falls inside a busy few weeks for the airport corridor. These dates come from the airport's construction updates and local reporting, and all construction dates can shift with weather and site conditions.

1. Oct. 19: Night hauling from the Woody Creek pit began, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Elam had first planned to start Oct. 12 but needed the county's approval before adding more trucks.
2. Oct. 28 to 30: Paving of Owl Creek Road and Trail was tentatively set for Oct. 28, with paving near the airport entrance and Airport Operations Center on Oct. 29 and 30. Temporary lane closures on Highway 82 were expected across those three days, with exact impacts still being finalized.
3. Nov. 4: The Aspen Daily News reported that commissioners will hold the confirmatory reading and public hearing on the night-hauling resolution that day. Regular county board meetings start at noon or as soon after as business allows, in the meeting room at 530 E. Main St. in Aspen. The county posts its agendas online, and the times of special meetings are available at 970-920-5200.
4. Nov. 24: This is the last date in the approved window. An Elam representative told commissioners the company doesn't plan to haul at night past Thanksgiving, which shortens what had been a longer plan.

This Fall Is the Rehearsal for 2027

The trucks stop at Thanksgiving, but the pit's role in the project continues. The Aspen Daily News reported that Elam will bring commissioners another request for 2027. No terms have been reported yet, so the volume and hours are unknown.

The shape of 2027 is clearer. The airport will be fully closed from 11 p.m. on April 4, 2027, to 7 p.m. on Nov. 19, 2027, with no commercial flights, no general aviation and no terminal access. The runway is being rebuilt in a wider layout to meet current Federal Aviation Administration standards. Kiewit plans to work Monday through Saturday and keep Sunday as a makeup day. An on-site batch plant will make asphalt for the project from both new material and material reused from the current airport layout. The plant will sit on what is now a hayfield, which crews will restore when the work is done. In September, the county reported that the airport had received a $37 million FAA construction grant, the largest single FAA grant in its history.

That is the background to this fall's approval. The stockpile growing at the airport now is supply the project needs before it starts in April, and much of it is coming from Raceway Drive. When the 2027 request reaches commissioners, the reference points will be the ones in the table above: 10 nights and 40 loads as the standing limits, 20 nights and 60 loads in 2012, and up to 130 loads a night in fall 2026.

For questions about the airport project, the airport takes calls at 970-920-5284 and email at [email protected], and answers voicemails within 24 hours. You can also sign up for its Frequent Flyer Updates emails from the construction updates page. For a daytime look at the same few miles of Woody Creek, see our late-summer weekend guide to the trail, the Tavern and the last-Thursday rhythm.

If you own a home near Smith Hill Way or Raceway Drive and want to know how the 2027 construction calendar could affect your plans for the property, whether that's renting it, renovating it or selling it, PJ Bory follows these county decisions as they happen and is glad to talk through what they mean for your address. You can also start on our Woody Creek neighborhood page.