CDOT Delays I-70 Repair to Avoid Airport Closure Conflict

CDOT delayed the $100 million I-70 Glenwood Canyon repair to 2028 to avoid overlapping with the 2027 Aspen airport closure, which is expected to surge regional highway traffic.

Glenwood Springs —Will the $100 million repair job on I-70 happen in 2027 or 2028?

The answer is 2028.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has officially delayed the I-70 Glenwood Canyon Phase 8 project by one year. The move is designed to prevent two massive construction projects from happening at the same time.

Here is the conflict. In 2027, the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport will close for seven months. It shuts down from April 4, 2027, through November 19, 2027. This closure forces a massive shift in travel patterns. Flights to the Eagle County Regional Airport are expected to jump by nearly 130%. That extra traffic funnels directly onto I-70.

If CDOT started the $100 million canyon repair in 2027, drivers would face airport-closure detours and highway construction simultaneously.

Shoshana Lew, CDOT’s Executive Director, called the deferral necessary. She stated it “prevents compounding disruptions along this vital highway while the regional airport is under construction.”

The Colorado Transportation Commission voted unanimously on October 15 to approve the delay. They also approved an extra $5 million. That cash covers inflation and cost escalation caused by the wait.

Local leaders backed the decision. The Boards of County Commissioners in Pitkin and Eagle counties supported the recommendation. Tom Boyd, Chair of the Eagle County Board of Commissioners, wrote a letter highlighting the risk. He noted that Glenwood Canyon serves as a critical corridor for residents, workers, and visitors. With the airport closing, coordinating infrastructure timing became essential.

The Phase 8 project itself is significant. It involves laying new concrete surfaces on highway lanes and inside the No Name and Highway Lake Tunnels. It adds guardrails to improve safety. It also continues resilience work to mitigate mudslide risks left over from the 2021 Grizzly Creek Fire.

Glenwood Canyon is a tough stretch. It is a 12.5-mile route with steep roads twisting alongside the Colorado River. In 2021, mudslides closed the canyon for almost three weeks. That event severed shipping routes and forced hour-long detours. For locals, that memory is still fresh; the canyon is a known pinch point where a single blockage halts the entire region.

The delay buys time. It keeps the highway open during the peak disruption of the airport closure.

Read that again: the airport closes in 2027. The highway work moves to 2028.

One question lingers. Does waiting a year really save money, or does it just push the pain down the road?