There is hereby created and established a state highway department, which shall be charged with the giving of instruction in the art of building, improving and repairing public wagon roads and bridges, collecting reports from township and county highway commissioners, overseers of highways and superintendents and commissioners of streets in villages and cities, and with the distribution of any state reward for improving the public wagon roads, that this legislature or any future session may provide for, or any funds that may be given to the state for such purposes by the United States government.

The state highway commissioner is hereby invested with full charge and control over roads heretofore or hereafter built or maintained by the state; and shall have the same authority to purchase or condemn land for highway purposes including lands containing gravel, stone or other material used and useful in highway construction as is or may be granted by law to township highway commissioners and to county road commissioners. The procedure that is, or may be, prescribed for condemnation proceedings instituted by boards of county road commissioners, is hereby expressly made applicable to such a proceeding when brought by the state highway commissioner. Such right of purchase or condemnation shall be deemed to exist in the case of the construction or maintenance of any road built or improved solely by the state, or by the state with federal aid, or by the state in conjunction with any of the municipalities of the state. The said commissioner may also exercise the same measure of authority as is or may be granted to county road commissioners with respect to the construction of drains when necessary for the construction or improvement of any highway within the contemplation hereof.

If considered advisable by the state highway commission, the highway commissioners of the townships of this state, and the county highway commissioners in counties working under the county road law, shall meet annually in a road institute, at a time and place as the state highway commission designates. The business which the road institute may perform shall be conducted at a public meeting of the institute held in compliance with Act No. 267 of the Public Acts of 1976, being sections 15.261 to 15.275 of the Michigan Compiled Laws. Public notice of the time, date, and place of a meeting of the road institute shall be given in the manner required by Act No. 267 of the Public Acts of 1976. The delegates to the institute shall consider matters as the state highway commission presents to their attention, and discuss matters of road improvement as may be of special interest to the township and county highway commissioners. A township highway commissioner may collect from his or her township the same per diem as in actual road work, and his or her actual expenses in attending the institute, if reasonable, shall be allowed by the township board and shall be paid by the township. A county highway commissioner may collect from his or her county the same per diem as in actual road work, and his or her actual expenses in attending the institute, if reasonable, shall be allowed by the board or committee, or county auditors who may have the authority in those matters in the county of which he or she is a county highway commissioner, and shall be paid by the county.

There shall be assigned to the state highway commissioner, by the board of state auditors, suitable rooms at Lansing, and at such other cities as the state highway commissioner and board of state auditors may determine, for the conducting of the business of the state highway department, and they shall provide suitable furniture and office equipment.