§ 359. Construction, reconstruction and improvement. 1. On assuming
jurisdiction of a thruway section or connection or any part thereof, or
of a highway connection, the authority shall proceed with the
construction, reconstruction or improvement thereof. All such work shall
be done pursuant to a contract or contracts which shall be let to the
lowest responsible bidder, by sealed proposals publicly opened, after
public advertisement and upon such terms and conditions as the authority
shall require; provided, however, that the authority may reject any and
all proposals and may advertise for new proposals, as herein provided,
if in its opinion, the best interests of the authority will thereby be
promoted; provided further, however, that at the request of the
authority, all or any portion of such work, together with any
engineering required by the authority in connection therewith, shall be
performed by the commissioner and his subordinates in the department of
transportation as agents for, and at the expense of, the authority. A
sealed proposal may be accepted through an electronic platform
established or used by the authority, provided that any sealed proposal
received electronically shall be made public at the same time as any
competing paper proposal, and provided further that the authority shall,
at minimum, provide the same opportunity and time for submitting sealed
proposals physically as for sealed proposals submitted electronically,
and shall provide the opportunity for bidders to submit sealed proposals
physically any time that it provides the opportunity to submit sealed
electronic proposals. In addition, the authority shall establish a
process for accommodating force majeure events that prevent the
submission of a sealed electronic proposal, including but not limited to
internet and power outage events, and for automatically confirming
receipt of any sealed electronic proposal received. All bidders shall be
notified of the time and place of any such adjournment or rejection.

2. All construction, reconstruction and improvements and any
engineering work required in connection therewith which are performed on
behalf of the authority by the commissioner shall be carried on,
generally, in the same manner and subject to the same provisions of law
as apply to the construction and improvement of state highways.

3. Highway and railroad grade crossings shall in general be separated
by structures to be determined by the authority, and the authority is
hereby authorized to combine or relocate intersecting highways, to
adjust traffic to such grade separation structures, except that the
grade crossing elimination structures involved in public service
commission cases number fifty-four hundred seventy-two and nine thousand
fifty-eight shall remain under the jurisdiction of such commission. The
cost of all such structures, except such part as is otherwise payable,
shall be borne by the authority. Telephone and telegraph wires, power
transmission and gas, oil and water lines, conduits, cables of every
kind and nature, which may be affected by thruway construction,
reconstruction or improvement, may, in the discretion of the authority,
be relocated in suitable facilities and the expense of such relocation
and of installing such facilities shall be borne by the authority. The
work of such relocation may be done by the owner of such wires, lines,
conduits and cables, and the authority is hereby empowered to enter into
an agreement with such owner for the performance of all or any part of
the work of such relocations at the expense of the authority.

4. In the case of a separation of a grade crossing pursuant to the
preceding subdivision, the structure shall be maintained and repaired by
the authority. Whenever the authority determines that a separation
structure carrying a highway under the jurisdiction of a municipality
requires major repair or reconstruction, the authority, with the
approval of the commissioner of transportation and after consultation
with such municipality, may close the bridge and provide adequate
alternative detour routing and signing. In the case of municipal
highways, the responsibility for rehabilitation and reconstruction of
the wearing surface, sidewalks, curbs and railings shall be the
responsibility of the authority. Highways combined, relocated or carried
over or under a thruway section or connection, or a highway connection,
under the provisions of the preceding subdivision, shall, upon
completion of the work, revert to and become the responsibility, with
regard to maintenance and repair, of the state or municipality, as the
case may be, formerly having jurisdiction there over.