1156 ARTICLE 89B.

have full power so to take over and take possession of any county road
or abandoned turnpike, and to accept by gift or surrender, and to acquire
by purchase or condemnation, any and all existing turnpikes or any sections
thereof, or any rights or interest therein, subject to any outstanding occu-
pation, use or franchise of any electric railway company or other public
service corporation; and thereafter all highways, however acquired here-
under, shall be State highways and shall be constructed, improved and
maintained by said commission for the State and at its expense, except as
provided in Section 3.

An. Code, 1924, art. 91, sec. 30. 1912. art. 91, sec. 36. 1908, ch. 141, sec. 32D.

1910, ch. 218, sec. 32D (p. 300). 1910, ch. 721, sec. 32D (p. 298).

1929, ch. 549. 1931, ch. 539, sec. 6. 1935, ch. 53.

6. The said commission, when about to construct any highway, shall
advertise for at least two weeks in one or more newspapers published in
each county in which the highway lies, and for three consecutive issues
in at least one daily newspaper published in Baltimore City for sealed
proposals for the construction of said highway, accurately describing the
same and stating the time and place for opening said proposals, and re-
serving the right to reject any and all proposals; said proposals shall be
publicly opened at the time specified in said advertisement, and the con-
tract for such work or for the supplies and materials required for such
construction (or for the supplies and materials required for such con-
struction) shall be awarded by the commission to the lowest responsible
bidder, unless in the opinion of said commission the interests of the State
shall be better served by awarding the contract to some other bidder, when
this may be done. All work which shall be done by the said commission,
whether on state roads, county roads or municipal streets, the labor and
materials of which are estimated to cost over one thousand dollars
($1, 000. 00), shall be advertised as aforesaid, except such labor and mate-
rials as may be required from time to time to maintain the various roads
to the width and cross section, as previously or originally constructed.
The construction and improvement of all State highways or parts thereof
shall be under the supervision and subject to the approval of the said com-
mission, in accordance with plans and specifications prepared by the chief
engineer and approved by said commission. In all cases where the con-
tract for work and materials shall be given out after competitive bidding,
the successful bidder shall promptly execute a formal contract to be ap-
proved as to its form, terms and conditions by said commission, and
shall also execute and deliver to said commission a good and sufficient bond
to be approved by said commission to the State of Maryland in not less
than the amount of the contract price. In no case shall any such bond
be approved or accepted unless the obligors bind themselves therein to the
payment of all just debts for labor and materials incurred by the bidder
in the construction and improvement of the road contracted for. To all
such bids there shall be attached the certified check of the bidder, and the
bidder who has the contract awarded to him and who fails to promptly