The department shall have full power and authority to lay out, establish, acquire, open, construct, improve, maintain, discontinue and regulate the use of controlled access highways within this State in the same manner or manners in which said department may now lay out, establish, acquire, open, construct, improve, maintain, discontinue and regulate the use of highways within the State. The department shall have any and all other additional authority and power relative to such controlled access highways as they now respectively possess relative to highways, including the authority and power to acquire or accept title to the lands or rights of way needed for the same. [PL 1971, c. 593, §22 (AMD).]

In connection with the laying out and establishment of a controlled access highway the department may take in fee or lesser estate, by purchase, gift, devise or by eminent domain under chapters 1 to 19, part or all of any part of land adjoining the highway location which, by reason of such laying out and establishment of a controlled access highway, has been severed from legal access to any public highway. [PL 1971, c. 593, §22 (AMD).]