Law derails tunnel

ALBANY — A multi-billion-dollar plan to build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River could be even more expensive because of a 19thcentury liability law critics say drives up liability insurance costs, a group looking to repeal the law warned Tuesday.

The so-called Scaffold Law holds contractors and property owners liable for construction “gravity-related injuries,” even if they are not at fault.

New York is the only state that still has the law on the books. Without a repeal or massive changes, the law could push the cost of the $13 billion tunnel portion of the Gateway up by as much as $300 million, according to an analysis by Common Good, a legal and regulatory reform coalition.

Critics of the scaffold law say it’s outdated since workers are protected by the workers’ compensation system.

But repeal has been opposed by the powerful trial lawyers lobby and labor unions.

“Just like other obsolete laws, the Scaffold Law is now defended only by the special interests that have formed around them, including the plaintiff’s bar that benefit from the growth of legal cases and settlements under the law,” Common Good’s analysis says.

The Gateway Program would include the construction of two tubes under the Hudson River for Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains and the rebuilding of a bridge in New Jersey over the Hackensack River. The two new tubes would allow for repairs to be undertaken to the existing tunnels that were damaged during Hurricane Sandy.

New York and New Jersey have committed to paying half the overall $20 billion price tag and have asked the federal government to kick in the rest.

Cuomo recently said President Trump gave no formal commitment to the project after he, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and congressional members from the two states met with the President to discuss the issue.