40:37D-7. Powers of authority relative to highways and lands

7. a. If the authority shall find it necessary in connection with the undertaking of the center to change the location of any portion of any public highway or road, it may contract with any government agency, or public or private corporation which may have jurisdiction over the public highway or road to cause the public highway or road to be constructed at a location the authority deems most favorable. The cost of the reconstruction and any damage incurred in changing the location of the highway shall be ascertained and paid by the authority as a part of the cost of the center. Any public highway affected by the construction of the center may be vacated or relocated by the authority in the manner now provided by law for the location or relocation of public roads, and any damages awarded as a result shall be paid by the authority as part of the cost of the center. In all undertakings authorized by this subsection the authority shall consult and obtain the approval of the Department of Transportation.

b. In addition to the foregoing powers, the authority and its authorized agents and employees may enter upon any lands, waters and premises for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, drillings and examinations as it may deem necessary or convenient for the purposes of this act, all in accordance with due process of law, and the entry shall not be deemed a trespass nor shall an entry for that purpose be deemed an entry under any condemnation proceedings which may be then pending. The authority shall make reimbursement for any actual damages resulting to the lands, waters and premises as a result of its activities.

c. The authority shall also have power to make reasonable regulations for the installation, construction, maintenance, repair, renewal, relocation and removal of tracks, pipes, mains, conduits, cables, wires, towers, poles and other equipment and appliances, herein called "public utility facilities," of any public utility as defined in R.S.48:2-13, in, on, along, over or under the center. Whenever the authority shall determine that it is necessary that public utility facilities which now are, or hereafter may be, located in, on, along, over or under the center shall be relocated in the center, or should be removed therefrom, the public utility owning or operating the facilities shall relocate or remove the same in accordance with the order of the authority. The cost and expenses of the relocation or removal, including the cost of installing the facilities in a new location, or new locations, and the cost of any lands, or any rights or interests in lands and any other rights, acquired to accomplish the relocation or removal, shall be ascertained and paid by the authority as a part of the cost of the center. In case of any relocation or removal of facilities, as aforesaid, the public utility owning or operating the same, its successors or assigns may maintain and operate the facilities, with the necessary appurtenances, in the new location or new locations, for as long a period, and upon the same terms and conditions, as it had the right to maintain and operate the facilities in their former location or locations. In all undertakings authorized by this subsection the authority shall consult and obtain the approval of the Board of Public Utilities .

L.1994,c.98,s.7.