Plans to build commuter terminal at Reagan National advance

WASHINGTON – Passengers arriving or departing on commuter planes at Reagan National Airport won’t use a planned commuter terminal for another four years, but this week the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s board members will hear an update on the project’s progress.

Building the new commuter terminal will require tearing down some hangars and MWAA’s longtime office building on the north side of the airport and relocating those offices.

MWAA documents show the new corporate office space was completed this month, and MWAA staff will relocate to their new offices, just west of the airport in Crystal City, in April.

Also next month, MWAA expects a notice to proceed will be issued for the demolition of two hangars and the current corporate office building.

The authority will also get an update on the yet-to-be-constructed concourse building, with some design plans for the concourse due in April and the apron design due in May.

The commuter terminal project has a projected budget of almost $409 million.

The new North Concourse is expected to be completed by the summer of 2021.

The commuter terminal will replace 14 outdoor boarding positions with new indoor gate access. Currently, commuter route passengers are herded down escalators in Terminal C to Gate 35X, where they are bused to commuter planes parked outside several hundred yards away.

More than 5,000 passengers a day go through Gate 35X.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect Gate 35X is in Terminal C.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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