N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 359: Construction, reconstruction and improvement

§ 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.