The Port Authority will close the Gateway Center light-rail station in mid-2009 to provide additional access and cut costs while a contractor builds a new subway station nearby.

Officials said today the station will be closed sometime between April and June next year and will remain closed for about two years, until about mid-2011, when the 1.2-mile North Shore Connector is finished and operating.

Service will end at the Wood Street T Station in the interm. Shuttle buses will be provided for riders who want to continue their trips by transit instead of walking to and from the Gateway Center area.

Originally, the authority planned to maintain service during most of the construction period for a new station, to be located under Stanwix Street in front of One Fifth Avenue Place.

But by closing Gateway Center Station and the "loop" where trolleys now circle to change from inbound to outbound service, the authority can eliminate some complex routing and save time and money.