The bridge's importance as the gateway to Aspen increased further when Aspen–Pitkin County Airport was built in 1953 just outside the city. Over the 1950s the population of Pitkin County grew 44%, due to migration to the upper Roaring Fork Valley, the second highest growth rate on Colorado's Western Slope. Ten years after the airport was opened, in 1963, the bridge was expanded to its current width to handle the traffic increase. Ranchers began selling their lands for skiing and housing development, some of which became the town of Snowmass, where the workers in Aspen's hotels, restaurants and shops settled, eventually incorporating in the mid-1970s. Aspen became a destination for more than just skiing, and its population continued to grow.