The airport was built in the 19802 and was originally designed to help reduce land traffic in the area in hopes of avoiding the many busses travelers used to reach Town, which then sat idling 24/7 while they waited to return their visitors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telluride_Regional_Airport

https://www.telluridenews.com/the_watch/news/article_27fd74e7-f9ae-5a37-a2a9-8ae7b26d4e3b.html