The Gateway Center subway station will close for two years at the end of the month to accommodate construction of the Port Authority's $538.8 million North Shore Connector project.

During the shutdown, Light Rail Transit service will end at Wood Street. Vehicles will reverse directions there using crossovers built during the past several months.

The Gateway Center and Wood Street stations have been closed on most weekends since July 18 for construction of the crossovers.

The Gateway station will shut down at the conclusion of Friday, Oct. 30 service (the last scheduled trip actually leaving at 1:21 a.m. Oct. 31).

Port Authority yesterday also announced that the intersection of Liberty Avenue and Stanwix Street will close Oct. 20 for a year to make way for construction. At the same time, one lane of Penn Avenue will reopen through Stanwix Street. Currently, Penn Avenue is closed to through traffic from Sixth Street to Stanwix.

A second lane on Penn will reopen next year, accommodating right turns onto Stanwix Street.

The North Shore Connector is a 1.2-mile subway extension through twin tunnels under the Allegheny River to new stations at PNC Park and Heinz Field. It is now scheduled for completion at the end of 2011, when a new, bigger Gateway Center station also will debut.

Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said there will be no special shuttle buses during the closure. The 31/2-block corridor between Gateway Center and Wood Street is served by several existing routes. Bus rides Downtown are free.

The authority's original construction plan kept Gateway Center open, but overruns forced several cost-cutting measures, including the decision to close the station to minimize contractor expense.

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