It’s happening: Reagan National’s nightmarish Gate 35X at Terminal C will soon be demolished. Construction is underway for Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Project Journey, which will bring a new concourse to the north end of the airport and add new security checkpoints for Terminal B/C (all gates 10 and above). Adam Tuss with NBC4 first noted the construction updates.

MWAA describes Gate 35X as “less-than-pleasing” and “infamously congested.” But any one of the 6,000 daily passengers who journey through the gate—which is really just a claustrophobic bus terminal that funnels passengers to the tarmac—would likely recognize it by these descriptors: a “crime against humanity,” a dreaded “hell gate,” “punishment,” “the worst gate in the country.”

The gate’s hellishness is so well known that one Twitter user has quoted the Bible and referred to the gate as the “upside down” from Stranger Things in at least six tweets since 2018. It appears to be his thing:

https://twitter.com/AJASONLENAR/status/1204536911425089537

Still, others will miss the gate. It’s become somewhat of a Washingtonian bucket-list item, a place where people from all political leanings and ideologies are united in their hatred. Who can forget when Donald Trump Jr. and Robert Mueller were both spotted there at the same time? This is the end of an era.

To eliminate congestion, the remodeled concourse will have fewer obstructive columns and higher ceilings. The $1 billion construction project is expected to be ready for passengers by July 2021, says MWAA spokesperson Rob Yingling, and will add 14 new gates with jet bridges to the plane, putting an end to the bus system.

“The point is to give everyone in concession areas a clear view to the gate areas so they can see the status of their flight and feel more relaxed,” Louis Lee, the project’s architect, said in a statement.

Currently, Gate 35X is still operating. While construction is underway, planes are parking adjacent to the gate, Yingling says. For those wondering when to schedule their ceremonial goodbye to the gate, MWAA doesn’t have an exact date just yet. But, Yingling assures DCist, it will soon be gone.

https://twitter.com/Reagan_Airport/status/1229885949389213705

Previously: (Photos) Big Changes Are Coming To National Airport