If you’ve been eagerly-awaiting the reopening of the Washington Monument, your wait is almost over.

The National Park Service announced today the monument will reopen on September 19, after more than three years of closure. The Park Service modernized the elevator control system and built a security screening center in a more than $10.7 million project. The service says the project came in within budget.

The monument’s new elevator will take visitors 500 feet up to the observation area. The old elevator system had chronic issues, leading to service interruptions and visitor evacuations down the monument’s 896 steps.

If you’re planning to visit: Same-day tickets are available at the Washington Monument Lodge for visits from September 19 – October 18. After that, visitors can order tickets online starting October 10 for tours beginning October 19. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

The monument’s original security facility was constructed in 2001 and was meant to be temporary, according to NPS. The new building will be made of glass and steel, and will be ballistic- and blast-proof. It was funded out of the Park Service’s annual budget, and cost $7.785 million.

In a press release today, the Park Service credited the Trump Administration for the monument’s reopening:

This is the last paragraph from a press release that the @NationalMallNPS just sent, announcing the Washington Monument’s reopening on 9/19. Can’t recall seeing a note like this (ie crediting @realDonaldTrump) in one of their press releases before. pic.twitter.com/zGDUbSUKsq

— Mikaela Lefrak (@mikafrak) August 16, 2019

The $3 million elevator renovations were funded by David Rubenstein, a philanthropist and co-founder of the private equity firm the Carlyle Group. He is a frequent backer of federally-managed parks and sites in the District that are of national interest. He funded restoration work on the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, and he supports the panda habitat and associated research at the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Rubenstein also donated $7.5 million to repair the monument after a rare earthquake in 2011 cracked the marble and granite structure. It was encased in scaffolding during much of the five ensuing years of repairs.

The Washington Monument was the tallest building in the world when it was completed in 1884. A steam-driven elevator used to take 10-12 minutes to get visitors to the top of the monument; it was replaced with an electric lift in 1901.

The monument hosted 493,550 in 2015, its last full year of operation.

This story was first published on WAMU.